Call it What You Will, Fate, Destiny
by 21stCenturyDragonRider
Summary: *sequel to Unexpected* Years after the events of Unexpected, the four have split up, forcing them all to break up. Mal, now 24 years old, misses Jay and wants to find him. Evie's been having the same issue with Carlos. So together, they travel around the U.S.A. to find their friends/boyfriends/ex-boyfriends (since they broke up). Nothing can stop them, right?
1. Chapter 1: Determination

**Did you all see the little hint I left at the end of Unexpected? I've seriously had this sequel planned since chapter 1 of Unexpected. And this one's a doozy. So be warned!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Descendants. I'm only gonna say it once because I don't want to keep putting this on every chapter.**

8 years ago, Mal helped Jay with an art project. She realized she liked him, yada yada...you know the story. Same for Carlos and Evie. Crushes. Rejection. A kiss. It was all a big mess.

Thankfully, it all worked out and Carlps and Evie started dating and Jay and Mal did, too. A little bumps in the road here and there, but they quickly overcame it. But then, graduation came. Mal wanted them all to go to the same college together near Auradon City (where they lived), but the boys had different plans. They left Auradon City for a college in Corona. Carlos said it had great classes. Jay wanted Mal and Evie to go with them, but they wanted to stay in Auradon City. Sadly, they had to part ways. Carlos and Evie broke up due to the long-distance thing, but Jay and Mal tried to make it work. It didn't, so they broke up as well. But the boys promised that once college was over, they would come back to Auradon City and get back together with them.

It's been a year since Mal and Evie graduated. Now, Evie's an intern for a big fashion company. Mal isn't doing anything exciting. She lives by herself in a small apartment and has a job as an artist. Evie lives somewhere else. Sometime in the middle of college, the boys stopped all communication with the girls. They used to video chat almost every day, but then they just stopped. Things just aren't like how they used to be.

xXx

A 24 year-old Mal unlocked the door to her apartment carrying a bunch of groceries. She set aside her key and began to put away the stuff. Once she was done with that, she walked into her room. She had no roommate, which was great for her since she liked her privacy. The walls and the floor in her room were white, but everything else was either black or purple, with little bits of green or pink here and there.

Near her window was a black dresser and on top of that were pictures of her and her friends in light purple and green frames. Mal began to stare at them, her mind going back to the days when they were in high school. The first one was of her and Evie at Ben's coronation. The second was a photo of all of them, Evie on Carlos' back and Mal on Jay's. Mal looked over at the last photo and sighed. It was a picture of her and Jay.

It really has been a long time since they last saw each other. Mal wished she didn't act like she didn't care when the boys last visited before they stopped communication. It was a real mystery why they stopped video chatting, calling, texting, or even emailing. She missed them. She missed Jay. It was proven they were each other's true love. But now they're separated. Mal hated that. Something snapped in her brain. She couldn't live like this anymore. There was no way she was going to live like this for the rest of her life.

Determined to fix things, she quickly packed up an extra pair of clothes, her spell book, and snacks and stuffed them into her worn out dark purple leather backpack. She put on her boots and grabbed her keys before heading out the door. There's someone really important she needs to talk to.

xXx

A knock was heard at the door of Evie's apartment. Evie stopped what she was doing and answered it, surprised at who she saw.

"Mal!" she exclaimed.

Evie immediately hugged her friend. It's been what felt like forever since they saw each other. It's actually been two weeks.

"What are you doing here?" Evie asked, releasing her from the hug.

"I need your help," Mal answered.

Evie's grin grew smaller when she heard that. The seriousness in Mal's face worried her.

 **It's a little short, but I'm saving all the interesting stuff for later.**


	2. Chapter 2: The Journey Begins

"What's wrong?" Evie asked.

"I want to find Jay and Carlos," Mal answered. "Don't you ever wonder why they don't call us anymore?"

"M-m-maybe they're busy," Evie stuttered, her mind wandering to Carlos.

"I don't think that's the case. What if they're in trouble? We have to find them. Don't you miss your boyfriend?" Mal asked.

"Ex-boyfriend," Evie corrected.

"Right. You two broke up when he and Jay went to Corona," Mal said. "But you still like him."

"I do," Evie answered, bewildered.

"And you know that he still likes you, right?" Mal asked.

Evie fell silent, thinking about what it would be like if she reunited with Carlos. Her mind wandered to the negative possibilities.

"But what if he doesn't? What if he already has another girlfriend?" Evie asked.

"There's no way. You guys have been through so much," Mal replied.

"Yeah, but-" "Are you with me or not?" Mal interrupted.

Evie paused for a moment before answering. "Yeah. I'm with you," she said.

Mal smiled. "Alright then. You should go pack," she informed.

Evie left to pack her things while Mal stepped inside and waited for her. Evie quickly got out a black leather bag with gold studs and put some of her things in there. She glanced at her nightstand and saw a picture of her and Carlos playing with Dude in the park.

It was really hard for Carlos to say goodbye to his dog friend, but technically, Auradon Prep adopted him. But Carlos does have his cat, Beezlebub, who he brought back to Auradon with him. Still, when Carlos used to video chat with Evie, he'd always say how much he missed Dude.

"Evie! Hurry up! The sun's not gonna be out all day," Mal shouted from the other room.

Evie snapped out of her thoughts and quickly finished packing. When she was done, she and and Mal got in the car and began their journey.

"Okay. It's one o' clock. It'll take five hours to Corona so we should be there at about six," Mal said as she drove. "When we find the guys, maybe they can let us sleep at their place."

"Got it," Evie replied.

Silence crept its way into the conversation as their minds wandered off to the guys. Evie's thoughts were a little different than Mal's. While Mal was eager to reunite with their friends slash boyfriends slash ex-boyfriends, Evie was still pretty worried about how the guys will react. They've been living in Corona for quite some time now. Five years to be exact. What if they took a liking to the place? What if they weren't planning on coming back to Auradon City at all? Evie's face expression changed the moment she thought of that. She turned to Mal.

"What if they don't want to come back?" Evie asked.

"What?" Mal asked, though she understood the question.

"What if they'd rather stay there? We're gonna look like fools," Evie said, slumping into her seat.

"Relax, E. Things are gonna work out," Mal reassured.

Evie smiled. "It's been a long time since you've called me that," she stated.

"It has, hasn't it?" Mal asked rhetorically, smirking.

Just then, Evie's phone started ringing. Mal glanced at her friend dig through her black bag. She managed to get to her phone and flipped her hair away from her ear before answering the call.

"Hello?" Evie asked through the phone.

Mal exhaled and turned back to the road ahead.

"Uh huh...Oh, that's cool...Yeah...Okay, bye," Evie said, turning off her phone.

"Who was that?" Mal asked, leaning her head towards Evie for a second, keeping her eyes on the road.

"Audrey. She just wanted to let me know she was going to get a dog," Evie answered.

"What kind?" Mal asked.

"I don't know. Yorkshire Terrier? Cavalier King Charles Spaniel?" Evie guessed.

"How do you know so much about dogs?" Mal asked, surprised she could name some of the dog breeds.

"I don't, really. Carlos used to take me with him to the pound and we'd try to guess the different types of dog breeds there," Evie answered.

"Cool," Mal replied. "Speaking of which, remember Scarlet?"

"What does that have to do with dogs?" Evie asked, disgusted by the mention of her name.

"Nothing, but it has something to do with Carlos," Mal replied, wiggling her eyebrows.

Evie glared at her friend. Mal just laughed and didn't say anything else about the subject. While she was driving, Evie sighed. Let's just say she and Scarlet weren't exactly friends.

 _xXx_

 _It's been a great two weeks since Jay True Love Kissed Mal from freeing her mom. Everyone was enjoying their Thursday, knowing there was no danger anywhere in sight. Except that there was. Carlos was spending his break from classes under a tree in the courtyard, daydreaming about Evie, the girl he's liked since they first met. It was still unbelievable that she was his girlfriend. The girl of his dreams, his girlfriend. He had to remind himself every ten minutes till it gets old, which never does._

 _While standing under his tree, a blonde girl wearing a pink dress came up to him. Scarlet. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail as usual with her bangs covering her forehead._

 _"Hi, Carlos," Scarlet greeted, smiling._

 _"Oh, hi, Scarlet," Carlos replied._

 _"Whatcha' doing?" Scarlet asked._

 _"Not much. Just daydreaming," Carlos answered._

 _"That's cool," Scarlet commented. "You know, I heard you're a real animal lover. Maybe you'd like to go to the zoo with me Saturday?"_

 _"Sure. That'd be great," Carlos answered, unaware of the trap he fell into._

 _"Carlos!" a voice called._

 _Both Carlos and Scarlet looked behind them and saw Evie running up to them. Scarlet frowned. She knew Carlos was dating Evie. The plan was, she'd take Carlos to the zoo, he'd fall in love with her instead and dump Evie._

 _"Evie. What's up?" Carlos asked, focusing his attention on his girlfriend._

 _"Um, Jay told me to come get you for Tourney practice," Evie answered._

 _"Okay," Carlos replied._

 _"Who's this?" Evie asked, noticing a third body in the conversation._

 _"Oh, this is Scarlet. She invited me to go to the zoo tomorrow. You wanna come?" Carlos asked, surprising Scarlet._

 _"Sure," Evie replied._

 _Carlos turned to Scarlet, who changed her look from angry to happy so he wouldn't suspect anything._

 _"Is it alright if Evie comes?" Carlos asked._

 _"Sure! Because...the more, the merrier," Scarlet answered, faking her enthusiasm._

 _"Great!" Carlos exclaimed. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I gotta get to the field."_

 _"Bye," Evie and Scarlet said simultaneously._

 _They watched as Carlos ran towards the Tourney field. When he was out of sight, Scarlet dropped her act._

 _"Alright, princess. Here's the deal. You can't go to the zoo with me and Carlos," she said straightforwardly._

 _"What? Why not?" Evie asked._

 _"The invitation was for him. Not you," Scarlet bluntly stated._

 _Evie frowned. "Well, you don't have to be so rude," she retorted. "Are you trying to steal Carlos away from me?"_

 _"What? I would never do that," Scarlet lied, hiding it pretty well._

 _"Are you sure?" Evie asked, still a little suspicious._

 _"Positive," Scarlet answered. "I'm just taking Carlos to the zoo for a little friendly bonding."_

 _Evie looked Scarlet up and down. The blonde didn't seem too trustworthy, but if she tried to make some kind of move on Carlos, Evie knew he stop her. Besides, that De Vil does like animals._

 _"Fine. I'll tell him I can't go," Evie gave in._

 _Scarlet smiled. "Good," she said._

 _"But don't get any ideas," Evie warned._

 _"I would never," Scarlet replied innocently._

 _After a few seconds, Evie left. Unknown to her, Scarlet was already cooking up her plan to separate the her and Carlos._

 **In case you didn't know, Scarlet is a character from the Descendants app. And no, she's not Scar's daughter. It's unclear who her parents are. Anyway, there's flashbacks! There's a pretty big gap between Unexpected and this current story so I thought you guys would want to know what happened.**


	3. Chapter 3: Kindness Helps a Lot

**Sorry I haven't updated. I've been trying to finish my oneshot series and now that that's done, I can focus more on this story.**

Mal and Evie arrived in Corona just before the sun set. Decorated all over the kingdom was the Corona flag in its purple and golden glory. When they got near the town square, Mal parked her car nearby a bakery. She and Evie got out of the vehicle, leaving their stuff inside.

"So, what's the plan?" Evie asked, scanning the area.

"Ask people if they know where Jay and Carlos are," Mal answered simply.

As soon as she said that, Mal walked of to a random person in the town square. Evie, being a little hesitant, glanced at the car, then to Mal before walking around. She noticed a few people were staring at her. She later found out it was because of her blue hair when she overheard a little boy ask his mother why her hair was blue. Of course they stared since blue was a very strange hair color.

Evie walked up to an elderly woman, hoping to gain answers from her.

"Excuse me," Evie began. "Do you know where Carlos De Vil lives?"

"Cruella De Vil's son? I haven't seen him in years," the woman replied.

"You know him?" Evie asked.

"Oh, yes. He and his buddy-Jay, was it?-They used to come to my husband's shop every day and talk about living in the Isle of the Lost and about these two beautiful young woman back home in Auradon City," the elderly woman informed.

"Really?" Evie asked, blushing a little.

"Yeah. They could go on and on about the adventures they had with those young ladies," the elderly woman answered. "That is, of course, until they stopped coming."

"So, you don't know where they are?" Evie asked.

"Nope. Sorry dear," the woman responded.

Evie sighed. "Thanks anyway," she said, disappointed.

After what felt like an eternity of asking around, both Mal and Evie made their way back to the car as it turned dark.

"Any luck?" Evie asked.

"Nothing. You?" Mal asked.

"No. Nobody seems to know where they are," Evie replied.

"Well, that's just great. Where are we going to sleep now? Our plan was to stay at their place when we found them, but it's like they vanished off the face of the earth," Mal complained.

"We can sleep in your car," Evie suggested.

"I guess so," Mal said, glancing at the dark purple vehicle.

All of a sudden, Evie's stomach started growling. Surprised at the sudden outburst, she chuckled nervously and clutched her stomach, a little embarrassed.

"Can we get something to eat first?" Evie asked.

"Sure," Mal answered.

She looked to the side and saw the bakery they parked the car next to. Deciding to eat there since their feet were too tired to walk very far, Mal and Evie walked inside.

The inside was cozy, a few candles lit around the small, but roomy area. Evie's mouth began to water from looking at all the pastries. She and Mal grabbed what they wanted and headed to the cashier.

"$21.95, please," the man behind the counter said.

Mal reached into her backpack for her wallet. As she did, the man, er baker, scanned the blue and purple-haired young women.

"Say, I've never seen you two around before," the baker stated. "Where are you from?"

"We're from Auradon City," Evie answered.

"What brings you here?" the baker asked.

"We're, uh, on a road trip," Evie answered.

"Here you go," Mal said, placing money onto the counter.

The baker took the money and handed her the loaves of bread. After that, she and Evie headed for the door.

"Have a nice evening," the baker said.

"You, too," Evie replied.

The baker watched as they got into the car. The purple vehicle didn't seem to be going anywhere, leaving the baker curious. He could faintly see the blue and purple-haired young ladies eating the loaves of bread in the car.

A few hours passed and Mal was relaxing in the passenger's seat, her hands behind her head and her feet up. It was officially dark out, only a few streetlights lit around the town square. Evie was fast asleep in the backseat, curled up like a cat. Sleeping in a car was uncomfortable, but it sure was better than sleeping in the streets. Mal's eyes felt heavy, threatening to close shut. She was about to let them close when...

'knock! knock!'

Mal's eyes went wide. She sat up straight and faced towards her window and saw the baker standing there. Mal rolled down the window, allowing him to talk.

"Sorry to bother you, but my wife and I thought you and your friend would like to sleep in the extra room we have," the baker offered.

"Oh. Well, thanks, but we wouldn't want to intrude or anything," Mal replied.

"It's no problem at all," the baker informed, meaning what he said.

Mal thought for a moment before replying with an, "Ok."

She turned around to wake up Evie, shaking her sleeping body. The blue-haired 24 year-old groaned from the shaking and slowly rose up.

"What's going on?" Evie asked.

"The baker and his wife invited us to sleep in the extra room they have," Mal informed. "Come on."

She and Evie got out of the car and followed the baker into the bakery where they were greeted by the baker's wife.

"I would've invited you in sooner, but I didn't know if you were gonna drive away later," the baker told them.

"Well, thank you. That car wasn't exactly the most comfortable place to sleep," Mal replied.

"Follow me. Our extra room is upstairs," the baker's wife said.

Mal and Evie followed her up the stairs and down a hall. To the right was a room with two small beds and a window.

"Here you go. If you need anything, just call me," the baker's wife informed. "Ok. Thank you," Mal thanked, watching her leave.

When she turned around, she saw Evie already in one of the beds, sleeping soundly. Mal smiled a little, before going to the other bed.

"Night, E," she said, closing her eyes.

xXx

 _"I had a great time, Carlos," Scarlet said, smiling._

 _"Yeah. Too bad Evie couldn't make it," Carlos added._

 _Scarlet had to stop herself from growling. All day, he's been talking about Evie. Evie, this. Evie, that. If Scarlet was going to make him like her, she'd have to step it up a notch. Make him change his mind about Evie._

 _"But she's too busy," Scarlet said. "Hanging out with Doug."_

 _"Huh?" Carlos asked, confused._

 _As they were talking, Evie was walking around, but noticed them and stopped in her tracks, retreating behind the lockers._

 _"I think you deserve better," Scarlet continued._

 _"What do you mean?" Carlos asked._

 _"She flirts with basically every guy she sees. You don't deserve that kind of girlfriend," Scarlet said smoothly._

 _"Then what do I deserve?" Carlos asked, oblivious to what was really going on._

 _"Someone who won't flirt with other guys. Someone with a much prettier face. Someone like me," Scarlet answered._

 _"You?" Carlos asked._

 _"You can consider it. Dump that blue-haired witch and I'll be your girlfriend instead," Scarlet replied with a smile._

 _Evie glared at the scene in front of her, her fists clenching against the lockers. She did not like this one bit._

xXx

The sun rose up and shined through the window of the small room Mal and Evie slept in. The brightness of the sun woke Evie up. She forced her eyes open and looked around. For a second, she panicked, wondering why she was here. Soon after, she remembered the baker and his wife offering for them to sleep in a nice, warm bed. Evie turned her gaze to Mal's bed, only to find she wasn't there.

Evie got out of bed and hurried downstairs to find her friend. When she got down the stairs, she saw Mal eating a bagel at one of the tables while the baker's wife was putting some pastries into baskets. They both turned to Evie, hearing her footsteps.

"Oh. good. You're awake," the baker's wife stated. "Feel free to eat what you want."

Evie slowly made her way to Mal and sat in a chair across from her.

"Here," Mal said, handing her a bagel from a shelf beside them.

"Don't we have to pay for that?" Evie asked.

"We don't have very much money so I told them to charge it to Ben," Mal answered.

"Can you do that? I mean, he's not really your...," Evie trailed off, hoping Mal would understand where she was going with this.

"Hey, he might not be my boyfriend anymore, but he's still in charge of us," Mal replied. "After all, he's the one who wanted us to come to Auradon."

"I guess so," Evie said, spreading some cream cheese onto her bagel.

The bell in front of the door 'dinged' as the door opened. Mal and Evie could hear the baker's wife gasp.

"Your Majesty," she said, curtseying.

Mal and Evie both frowned in confusion and looked behind them to see what was going on. Their jaws dropped when they saw who had just come through the door.

 **Guess who?**

 **It feels like it's been a while since I've written anything so my writing skills might not seem like the best right now. Or have they always been like that? Anyways, I hope you were entertained with this chapter and until next time.**


	4. Chapter 4: Unstuck

**Okay, so I know it's only been, like a month since I've updated, but it feels like such a long time. I was beginning to lose interest in writing and almost quit, but I got over it and wrote this chapter. I just got a little stuck on one small part of the story and I figured out how to solve that little writer's block. Well, now that that's over, hopefully I can update more frequently. So thanks for waiting so patiently. I hope you enjoy this.**

 _"Scarlet!" Evie shouted as she walked up to the blonde-haired girl, standing alone in the courtyard._

 _Scarlet turned around and frowned. "What do you want?" she asked._

 _"I saw you telling Carlos to dump me! You said you wouldn't get any ideas!" Evie yelled._

 _"I didn't. I already had one," Scarlet answered, smirking._

 _"I never should've trusted you," Evie said, her voice filled with venom._

 _"Yeah. You were kinda stupid to do that," Scarlet said. "But too late now. I've got Carlos wrapped around my finger. Pretty soon, he'll come crawling to me."_

 _Scarlet glanced to her left and saw Carlos approaching them._

 _"Speak of the devil," Scarlet said._

 _Evie turned her head to see Carlos a few feet away from her and Scarlet. As he came closer, she hoped he wouldn't actually dump her. They've been through a lot to be together. It can't just end like this._

 _"Hey, guys," Carlos said._

 _"Hi, Carlos," Evie and Scarlet said at the same time, then glared at each other for a quick second._

 _"So Evie, dinner at Mrs. Potts' tonight?" Carlos asked, surprising both girls._

 _"Y-yeah. Sounds great," Evie answered._

 _"Awesome," Carlos said. He then turned to face Scarlet. "Hope that answers your offer."_

 _Scarlet's jaw dropped, making Carlos smirk a little before walking away._

 _Evie chuckled. "Yeah. You've got him wrapped around your finger, alright," she teased._

 _Scarlet growled. "This isn't over. He just doesn't see how perfect I am for him yet," she said._

 _"Never gonna happen," Evie said, before walking away._

xXx

The baker's wife was very surprised to see the queen of Corona a few feet in front of her.

"What brings you here?" she asked.

"Well, I was hoping you could bake a cake for Captain Maximus' birthday this Saturday. Specifically, an apple cake," the queen of Corona said.

"Of course. I'll go find my husband," the baker's wife said, before curtseying and disappearing off into the kitchen.

As Rapunzel waited, her eyes wandered around the small bakery. The smell of freshly baked bread was always something she enjoyed. As she stood there waiting, she could hear a couple faint voices coming from behind her.

"E! Get back here!" cried out one of the voices.

Before Rapunzel could look behind her, a blue-haired young lady swiftly made her way in front of Rapunzel, a cheerful smile on her face.

"Your Highness," she said as she curtseyed. "My name is Evie and I'd just like to say you were one of my favorite princesses growing up."

"Oh, really? Um...thanks," Rapunzel said, flattered.

After looking at Evie, she remembered who she was.

"Hey, you're the Evil Queen's daughter, aren't you?" Rapunzel asked.

"I am," Evie answered.

"Wow, you look so different now. I haven't seen you since Family Day," Rapunzel said.

"Oh. You were there?" Evie asked sheepishly.

"Yeah. But it's okay. Everyone's gotten used to you guys now. I even knew a couple villain kids who attended Corona University. Almost everyone seemed to be okay with it," Rapunzel stated, catching Mal's attention.

"Did you say villain kids?" she asked, now standing next to Evie.

"Yeah. If I remember correctly, their names were Jay and...um...Carlos," Rapunzel said.

Mal and Evie exchanged looks.

"Why? Do you know them?" Rapunzel asked.

"They were our friends," Mal answered.

"Maybe more than that," Evie added.

"It's been years since we've seen Jay and Carlos. So we came here to find them, but no one seems to know where they are," Mal explained.

"Well, why didn't you say so?" a voice said.

Mal, Evie, and Rapunzel all looked over at the baker and his wife walking up to them.

"We know where those boys went," the baker's wife said.

"You do?" Evie and Mal asked in unison.

"The shorter one, Carlos, used to come here every week to buy bread. That kid must've gained a few pounds eating all those sandwiches," the baker's wife said, causing Evie to giggle. "So, we know them very well. The last time Carlos came here was to say goodbye. He said he and his buddy, Jay, were heading off to New Orleans. Said something about college not suiting them."

"Why didn't you tell us this sooner?" Mal asked.

"We didn't know who you were before. You never told us your names or else we would've known," the baker's wife said.

"They talked about us?" Mal asked.

"Oh, all the time," the baker's wife answered. "I could just imagine the looks on their faces when they see you two."

"Well then, we'd better get going," Mal said. "It was nice meeting you and letting us stay here for the night. And thanks for telling us where Jay and Carlos went."

"You're welcome," the baker's wife said.

"Bye," Evie said, receiving the same response from the baker and his wife.

And with that, the purple and blue-haired girls headed straight for the door. But just before they could get outside, Mal turned back.

"Wait! We don't know what your names are," she said.

"James," the baker said.

"And Emily," the baker's wife added.

Mal smiled and she and Evie headed out the door, but suddenly, Evie rushed back in. She stopped in front of Rapunzel before going outside again to say goodbye.

"Your Majesty," Evie said as she curtseyed once more before darting back outside.

Once she got in the car, Mal drove off. New Orleans was only a few hours away. As they drove out of Corona, Mal looked over at Evie and smiled.

"So, Jay and Carlos talked about us," she said.

"Yeah," Evie replied.

"You still worried Carlos doesn't like you anymore?" Mal asked.

"Not as much, but like that old lady I talked to last night said, it's been years since anyone's seen them. Things could be different," Evie said.

"Stop being so negative. The kid's had a crush on you since the ninth grade. I'm sure he still does," Mal said.

"Do you think Jay still likes you?" Evie asked.

Mal fell silent. Evie was suspecting Mal wasn't so sure about it, but then she spoke up.

"Yeah. I know he does. I mean, sure I was a bit sarcastic and cruel and kinda made fun of him sometimes, but he's dealt with me since we were seven. He's used to how I am. It's not like he's with some sweet, bubbly girl with a gorgeous face and gorgeous blonde hair and smothers him with kisses whenever he's around even though we're each other's true love, you know?" Mal said, her smile faltered, then faded.

Evie stared at her friend, worried about her after what she said. Is Mal actually worried about Jay? This whole time she's been confident and stuff telling her to not worry because she knows everything's gonna turn out all right, but maybe that was just a cover?

"Mal?" Evie asked.

"I'm fine. I just...," Mal trailed off, keeping silent for a moment. She then turned to Evie. "So tell me again how you got that job at that big fashion company?"

"Well, There isn't much to say about it. I...," Evie continued to talk.

 **There you go. I'm gonna start working on the next chapter now. Maybe.**


	5. Chapter 5: Friends on the Other Side

After a few hours of driving, Mal and Evie reached New Orleans. The place looked just the same as it did 20 years ago. Same buildings, same piers, same 1920s look. As Mal parked her car somewhere along the sidewalk, a trolley passed by filled with people. As Evie stepped out of the car, her eyes lit up at the sight of the busy town.

"Whoa! It's so beautiful here!" Evie said.

She and Mal began walking around, one of them focused on the reason why they're there while the other getting distracted by the shops and music.

"Okay. Let's ask around again. There's gotta be someone who knows where Jay and Carlos went," Mal said.

She turned to look at Evie, only to find her staring at a dress in a window of a shop. Mal grumbled and took Evie's arm, pulling her away from the window.

"E, don't get distracted. We need to find the guys, remember?" Mal asked.

"Yeah, yeah. I remember, but that dress was so pretty," Evie answered, glancing back at the dress she was looking at before.

Mal let go of Evie's arm so they could split up once again to ask the residents if they knew where Carlos and Jay were. But just like in Corona, no one knew. It's been about an hour and still nothing. Mal and Evie were beginning to lose hope. Deciding to take a break, they went to a café for lunch. It was after all in the afternoon. They sat at a table and began to look at the menus.

"I can't believe no one knows anything about Jay and Carlos," Mal said.

"I know, right? It's weird. You'd think people would remember two villain kids living in the same town as them," Evie said.

"Maybe they're just used to it. We did move here a long time ago," Mal replied.

Evie sighed. As they continued to talk, a man, around his twenties, lowered his menu, secretly listening in on their conversation.

"The ice cream looks good," Mal said.

"Remember when you smashed an ice cream cone on Jay's head?" Evie asked.

"Yeah. I do. He was not happy about that," Mal answered, smiling at the memory.

"But he was smiling," Evie stated.

"Was he? I don't remember," Mal said.

Just then, the young man who was listening to them before walked up to the two, popping into the conversation.

"I hear you're looking for Jay and Carlos, the villain kids," the young man said.

Mal and Evie both jumped, startled by the young man.

"You know them?" Mal asked.

"No, but I know someone who does," the young man answered.

Mal and Evie exchanged looks, one with slight distrust and the other with pure excitement.

* * *

The young man led the two down a couple streets away from the café and stopped at an alley, leading to a door with a questionable sign above it.

"Are you sure we should trust him? I mean, for all we know, he could be a serial killer," Mal whispered to Evie.

"Well, he says he knows someone who knows where the guys are. And if not, you can just use your magic on him or something," Evie whispered back.

The young man cleared his throat, bringing the girls' attention towards him. He opened the suspicious-looking door, revealing a dark room on the inside with a purple-yellow glow. Mal and Evie glanced at each other, the blue-haired one suddenly getting nervous.

They cautiously stepped inside. The room was quite large. It was dark, but candle-lit on the other side of it. Creepy masks were hung on the walls and tables with strange trinkets were against the wall. On the other side of the room was a long table with a chair behind it, facing the wall.

"Doctor, you have some visitors," the young man said.

From the other side of the room, a maniacal laugh was heard, causing Evie to hug Mal's arm, shaking a little. The chair turned. There was someone sitting in it. When the chair turned fully to face the three across the room, the person sitting in it became very recognizable. She had dark skin, black hair, and glowing green eyes along with an outfit that could easily explain the way the room was decorated.

"Freddie?" Mal asked.

"Mal! Evie! It's been forever since we've seen each other," Freddie said.

"What are you doing here?" Evie asked.

"My dad used to live here so I thought I'd live here, too," Freddie answered.

"You're still doing all this creepy voodoo stuff he did?" Mal asked, glancing at the room.

"Not as much. Not many people here like that stuff after what happened with Prince Naveen," Freddie said. "This used to be my dad's old voodoo lair or whatever he called it. I _would_ take down the creepy masks and stuff, but it feels like home."

The young man cleared his throat, letting them know he was still there. Freddie turned to face him.

"You may go, Fernando," Freddie said, making a 'shoo' gesture with her hand.

With that, he walked away, behind a curtain to the left.

"Sit down. Get yourselves comfortable," Freddie said, gesturing for them to sit in the chairs in front of the table.

Mal and Evie did as they were told.

"Now then. I hear you're looking for Jay and Carlos," Freddie said, her elbows on the table while her chin rests in the palms of her hands.

"We are. How'd you know that?" Evie asked suspiciously.

"I see all, my friend. My cards tell me everything," Freddie said, leaning back on her chair and crossed her arms behind her head.

"So, do you know where the guys are?" Mal asked.

"Of course I do. They strolled into town a year or two ago asking for jobs. No one took them so I offered them a job as my cleaning people. You know, keep the place nice and tidy, organize my shrunken head collection," Freddie said. "Anyway, they accidentally saw some of my cards while cleaning and I guess they saw your guys' future or something and left New Orleans."

"Where'd they go?" Evie asked.

"No idea. They just dashed off without saying where they were going," Freddie answered.

"But you said they knew where they are!" Mal said, getting impatient with the witch doctor.

"I know where they were last. Here," Freddie said. "That should give you two some kind of lead."

Mal growled. Evie held her arm out in front of Mal, hoping she doesn't attack their friend while standing up, bringing the purple-haired one up with her.

"Well, thanks for nothing. We should really get going," Evie said.

"Hold up. We haven't seen each other in years. Let's catch up a little. We can talk, Fernando will make some coffee. It'll be fun," Freddie offered.

"Well," Evie began, glancing at Mal's face for an answer, to which she shrugged and said, "Sure."

"Great. Follow me. The decorations in here must be giving you two the heebie-jeebies," Freddie said, leading them behind the curtain on the left.

* * *

 _Mal and Jay were finally happy. Audrey's out of the way (with Doug trying to pursue her) and Ben's okay with it now. The only problem now was...the Bal shippers. Most, if not all of the students at Auradon Prep really loved Ben and Mal together that when they found out Mal was now dating Jay, chaos happened. It seemed to tone down now that it's been a while, but some still aren't okay with it._

 _Jay was walking through the halls, in between classes. He was usually pretty loved by Auradon Prep, but today was a little different._

 _"You destroyed Bal! Go back to the island, you jerk!" Jay heard as a paper b_ _all bounced off his head, directing his attention to a couple of teens a few feet away._

 _Once his eyes turned to them, they scattered away. This has been happening for a while now. Jay didn't care too much, but then they started throwing stuff at him._

 _Jay kept walking, hoping to find Mal. He spotted her near her locker outside talking to Evie._

 _"Hey," he said as he approached them._

 _"Hey," Mal replied, smiling._

 _Evie also smiled._

 _"Have you noticed anything strange going on with the kids here?" Jay asked._

 _"No, why?" Mal asked._

 _"Some of them have been throwing stuff at me and saying how I destroyed Bal," Jay said._

 _"What's Bal?" Mal asked._

 _"You and Ben. I guess some people are still not okay with you two being together," Evie said. "But don't worry. I'm sure they'll stop soon."_

 _"I hope so. I don't want Jay to get all this hate for something so stupid," Mal said, rubbing his arm with a soft smile, which he returned._

 **Okay, so I kinda didn't start writing this right after I posted ch. 4, but I did get around to doing so. So... Anyways, I really hoped you guys liked it even a smidge. I know it's not very exciting (yet), but I have something planned for later on so just stay with me.**


	6. Chapter 6: Suspicions

**This one's a bit shorter, but I hope you still (somewhat) like it.**

Freddie led Mal and Evie to the back of the voodoo lair, behind the curtain. Inside, it looked like an ordinary home except for the strange-looking knick-knacks and decorations.

"Fernando is making the coffee as we speak. Sit," Freddie said as she gestured to the sofa. "We have lots to talk about."

Mal and Evie did as they were told. Fernando then came in with the drinks.

"Um, actually I prefer tea," Evie said.

Fernando looked at Freddie, who replied with, "You heard her. Go make some tea. Now shoo."

Fernando walked away, leaving the three. Freddie then turned to face her guests.

"So, how've you been?" she asked, sipping her coffee.

"Good. You know, aside from the fact that we haven't seen Jay and Carlos in years," Mal answered.

"Oh right!" Freddie exclaimed. "Why are you looking for those two, by the way?"

After a second of silence, Freddie realized why.

"Ohhhh! I remember now. You guys were dating," Freddie said. "But didn't that happen years ago?"

"Yeah, but...we really miss them," Evie answered.

"Can't you just call them or something?" Freddie asked.

"I've been trying for the last three years, but they won't pick up. Then I just stopped," Mal said.

"Me, too," Evie added.

"I see," Freddie said, staring at the ground to think.

The whole thing was just so strange. Why wouldn't Jay and Carlos pick up? If they really missed the girls, then they would've answered all their calls. Maybe they just moved on. Their relationship was over. Platonic and romantic.

"What did they see in those cards that made them leave?" Evie asked.

"I honestly have no idea. I can't find those cards anywhere," Freddie answered. "But whatever it was, they seemed really scared about it."

Mal furrowed her eyebrows. Suspicion rose to her brain.

"Is there anyone else who knows where they went?" she asked.

"No one I know. Which is everybody in town," Freddie answered. "Sorry."

"It's alright," Mal said, her eyes wandering to the floor.

Silence filled the room. The only sound that could be heard was the sound from outside.

"But at least you're somewhere in your search. Why don't you stay here tonight?" Freddie asked.

"Really? That'd be great," Evie said, smiling.

"Of course. Follow me. I'll show you to where you can sleep," Freddie instructed, leading her purple and blue-haired friends upstairs.

xXx

"Here's where you two are going to sleep," Freddie said, presenting them with a half-empty room. One side of it was filled with stuff Freddie owns.

"Where are the beds?" Mal asked.

"Hold on," Freddie said, disappearing.

Mal turned to take a good look at the room. Evie was standing in front of the pile of stuff, staring at a few of the things in it. When Freddie came back, she was holding a couple rolled up mats in her arms.

"Here. You can sleep on these," Freddie said, setting the mats down on the floor against the wall.

"And here are some pillows," she added, leaning down outside the hall to pick up two pillows and handed them to Mal. "It's a lot more comfortable than you think."

"I highly doubt it," Mal said.

xXx

Since they were staying with Freddie for the night, the voodoo master took them to explore the town then they ate dinner. It was now 9 pm and Evie was waiting for Mal to come out of the shower so she could wash up. As she waited in the room she and Mal were sleeping in, she scrolled through her photo album on her phone and came across a picture of her and Carlos with Dude.

Evie smiled at the picture, but then her worries appeared, consuming her mind with thoughts she's been having since the day he left.

 _'What if he doesn't want to be with me anymore? What if he's already got a girlfriend he's really happy with,' Evie thought._

She sighed and put away her phone, sliding down to the floor.

Meanwhile, in the shower, Mal was having similar thoughts. Even if she and Jay were each other's True Love, that won't stop him from being attracted to other girls. Mal sighed as she turned off the water.

 **Yes. I have updated, thus granting your wishes in the review section.**


	7. Chapter 7: Oo-de Lally

_Though Jay's been called worse, he was very annoyed at the Auradon Prep students for continuing their dumb riot and kept throwing stuff at him. He didn't do anything about it even when he really wanted to._

 _Another Tourney game came up against the Agrabah Sultans. Jay shot the ball into the net and Auradon Prep won. Even though the announcer and his teammates were cheering, most of the students in the bleachers started booing._

 _"It seems like the crowd isn't too happy about this," the announcer said._

 _"What's going on?" Carlos asked to Jay._

 _Some of the students were shouting things like,"Bal destroyer!" or "Mal deserves better."_

 _Mal was sitting in the bleachers. Her blood boiled as the students around her booed. She looked onto the field, staring at Jay's confused eyes._

 _"That's it," she mumbled to herself._

 _Mal stood up, and shouted, "Hey!"_

 _Everyone stopped. All eyes were on her now._

 _"Stop booing Jay! He didn't do anything wrong. Our personal lives are none of your business. I really like him and if you have a problem with that, you can go cry in a corner because there's nothing you can do about it," Mal said._

 _When the game was over, Jay spotted Mal about to walk away from the field. He ran over to her as quickly as he could._

 _"Mal, wait," he said, making Mal stop and turn around to face him. "Thanks for what you said back there."_

 _"No biggie. I just embarrassed myself in front of the whole school saying how much I like you and possibly getting detention for the rest of the speech," Mal replied sarcastically._

 _"Seriously though, thanks," Jay said._

 _Mal smiled. She doesn't ever remember doing something like this for Ben. Probably because he was loved by the school no matter what. Dating Jay was definitely going to be different._

 _"You're welcome," Mal said._

 _xXx_

 _The next morning when Mal and Evie woke up, they tried to figure out where Carlos and Jay went with Freddie. Fernando, Freddie's servant guy, came up to the three while they were staring at the map of Auradon._

 _"I know where they went," he said._

 _"You do?" Mal asked excitedly. "Where are they?"_

 _"Why didn't you tell us this sooner?" Freddie asked, a little suspicious._

 _"They made me promise not to tell anyone. But I'm going to tell you where they went anyway, because it's for their own good," Fernando said._

 _"What do you mean?" Evie asked._

 _"Maybe seeing you will calm them down from what they saw in those cards," Fernando answered._

 _"What is it with the cards? Nothing bad's gonna happen, right?" Mal asked._

 _"I don't know. They just said they needed to leave," Fernando said._

 _"So where did they go?" Freddie asked._

 _Fernando stepped closer to the map and pointed to Cinderellasberg._

 _"Cinderellasberg," he stated._

 _"I guess that's where we're going next," Mal said._

 _"It was nice seeing you again. Highlight of the year," Freddie said._

 _"Come visit us soon, alright?" Mal asked._

 _"Maybe," Freddie answered._

 _xXx_

 _After that, Mal and Evie headed out to Cinderellasberg. That was on the other side of the country. After what seemed like forever, it was sunset and they were still driving._

 _"Can we please stop?" Evie asked._

 _"No. We can't," Mal replied._

 _"But we're running out of gas," Evie stated._

 _"We'll fuel up when we get there," Mal said._

 _"Mal, we're not going to arrive in Cinderellasberg for another three hours," Evie argued. "Let's just-"_

 _Evie was cut off when the car started making noises. All of a sudden, it stopped._

 _"What?" Mal asked as she repeatedly stepped on the gas pedal._

 _"I told you," Evie said._

 _Mal glared at her friend, then got out of the car. Evie followed her out._

 _"Great. Now how are we going to get to Cinderellasberg?" Mal asked._

 _"I don't know. Push the car?" Evie suggested._

 _Mal sighed. She pulled out her spell book and began flipping through it. As she did that, a swift movement of green flashed behing them._

 _Evie looked back, hearing it. She began to panic, since they were in the woods and it was almost dark out._

 _"Mal?" she said, shakily._

 _"Not now, E," Mal replied._

 _Another swift movement flashed on the side of them, but this time it was red. Again, Evie was the only one who noticed this._

 _"Mal?" she said, trying to get her attention. "I think there's someone here."_

 _Mal put her book down and scanned the area. She could see nothing but trees._

 _"Evie, there's no one th-"_

 _Mal was cut off by an arrow shooting past her, hitting a tree. They definitely weren't alone._


	8. Chapter 8: Merry Men

Green flames appeared on Mal's hands as she became alert of the danger. Out from the trees came a bunch of grown men wielding weapons. Most were dressed in green and brown. One of the men held a bow in his hand and a quiver of arrows strapped to his back.

"Who are you?" Mal asked, holding her fighting stance.

"I'm Robin Hood. And these are my Merry Men," he said, gesturing to the others beside him. "We don't like trespassers. Mind telling us what you're doing here?"

"Our car ran out of gas. We're trying to get to Cinderellasberg," Mal answered.

"We can help with that. I just need to know if you can be trusted. What are your names?" Robin Hood asked.

"Mal. And that's Evie," Mal answered.

Evie shyly waved at the strangers.

"Aren't you two the villain kids who came here years ago?" Robin asked.

"That's us," Mal said.

Robin smiled. "Well then. Follow us. I'm sure you're starving," he said, leading the two girls to the campsite.

When they arrived, they saw there were tents placed everywhere, pots and pans being used over a fire, and plenty more of those Merry Men. Mal and Evie sat down on one of the logs as Robin handed them each a stick with chicken on it. He then sat down beside them.

"Why do you guys live in the forest? In tents?" Mal asked.

"We prefer to do things the old-fashioned way. Like back in the Enchanted Forest," Robin answered.

They watched as some Merry Men scattered around, carrying pots.

"So tell me, why are you two going to Cinderellasberg anyway?" Robin asked.

"Well, our friends are there. And we haven't seen them in a long time," Evie said.

"Friendships are important. I think they'll be very happy to see you," Robin stated.

"I hope so," Evie said, losing a bit of positivity.

It became silent between the three. Evie began thinking about the worst possible outcomes of seeing Carlos. Again. Robin then spoke up.

"I think it's time to get your car fixed up," he said, standing up. "Little John? Go get the gas cans."

 **So Mal and Evie are getting closer to finding Jay and Carlos. They're not going to stay in Sherwood Forest for very long, but somewhere else they are. Cinderellasberg maybe?**


	9. Chapter 9: That Old Fishy Smell

For the next three days or so, Mal and Evie stayed with Robin Hood and his Merry Men. They didn't have all the right tools needed to fix Mal's car so a few of the Merry Men had to go in town to get what they needed. While there, the two villain kids were entertained by the stories Robin and Little John told them. Before they knew it, Mal's car was fixed. Though a part of them wished they could stay longer, Cinderellasberg was waiting with Jay and Carlos there. Mal and Evie said their goodbyes and drove away.

Midway through their journey to Cinderellasberg, it was already past lunchtime and the girls were getting hungry. While driving along the shore of Triton's Bay (but not actually on the beach), Evie spotted a dock and a small convenience store so Mal pulled over.

The bay was shaped in a half-circle kind of way. Along the land part were different types of boats. Most of them were for sailing or for fishing. The convenience store was placed in the middle of the bay with a thick and wide concrete bridge connecting the store to the land. The bridge was white and there were blocks of the same concrete used for the bridge placed along the edges with gaps in some of them. It was messy, but easy enough to get through. The sun was out, making the water glisten like jewels.

As Mal and Evie walked across the bridge, the purple-haired girl couldn't help but sing a song as she thought about Jay. It wasn't your typical upbeat happy tune. It was full of regret for letting him go when she could've done something. All while that happened, Evie listened closely to the lyrics, thinking the same of Carlos. She didn't bother joining in Mal's song.

When they finally got to the convenience store, they could see it was a small but sturdy shack. The roof was made up of wood and some sort of straw with a few strands of seaweed all overtop the wood. The platform the shack was standing on were made up of wooden planks, stretching out several feet from the entrance of the store. Over that was the roof stretching the same length as the platform and two pillars on opposite ends holding it up. On the other side of the store was another bridge, but it didn't look like the other one. It was a wide wooden bridge that stopped several feet from the store so the boats could get pass. The shack didn't have a door. There were just wooden pillars that held up the roof.

The two went inside the store and immediately searched for some food. The inside wasn't as hot as it was outside. There was a small fan on the counter of the cashier that cooled some parts of the store. Evie found a ham sandwich inside the refrigerated section on the wall to the right. Keep in mind that the store was small. There were only two 'aisles' placed in the middle of the shack. Mal was browsing in between those aisles looking at the fisrt one, which was the one closest to the cash register.

As she searched, she spotted a large pack of colored marshmallows that has passed its expiration date by a few years. She sighed in disgust.

"Yeah. I wouldn't buy that if I were you, either. That thing's been sitting there for years," Mal heard someone say.

She looked over at who was talking and saw a young man on the other side of the 'aisle' (it was a really short aisle in width) stocking up the shelves. He must've been an employee. At first she shrugged him off, but he just looked so familiar. Mal couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was something about him—then it hit her.

"Jay?!" Mal almost screamed. The young man looked up and realized who was standing in front of her.

"Mal?!"he said, his eyes widened in surprise.

A huge grin appeared on both of their faces as they embraced each other in a hug, her arms around his neck and his around her waist. They both laughed, extremely happy to see each other after years. Mal never wanted to let go. Neither did Jay. But they soon had to when they heard Evie approach them. She had heard them.

"Evie!" Jay said, even more surprised.

Evie laughed and they hugged. Then they soon released each other.

"What are you two doing here?" Jay asked, his heart still racing from seeing his best friends after years.

"It's a long story. More importantly, what are you doing here?! We thought you were in Corona!" Mal replied with just as much enthusiasm.

"It's a long story," Jay said. "So what have you been doing all these years?"

"Well...," Mal started.

Evie smiled as Jay and Mal caught up with each other. Her head turned to outside when she heard footsteps. Her smile quickly faded when she realized who that was. His black-and-white hair made it super easy. He walked onto the wooden platform outside as he carried some big sack. Evie slowly made her way to him as he set down the large and rather heavy sack next to the pillar on the left.

Evie didn't know what to do. She was scared. She hadn't seen him in so long and now that he's right there in front of her, she almost forgot how to speak.

"Carlos?" was all she could get out.

Immediately, he froze. He knew that voice. Slowly getting up, he turned around to see Evie. She looked like she had just seen a ghost.

"Evie," he said softly. He couldn't believe it his eyes.

Silence took over. It wasn't a minute until Carlos spoke.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice almost a whisper.

"I wanted to see you again," Evie answered. "I missed you."

"I-I missed you, too," Carlos said.

Evie walked closer to him as she wrapped her arms around him after what felt like forever. Carlos was a little surprised, but then put his arms around her as well. He missed her so much. Her voice, her touch, everything. Even though it felt wrong to think those things. As they hugged, Mal and Jay walked outside.

"Well, I guess she found him," Jay said.

Carlos and Evie let go of each other to face the other two.

"Mal! You're here, too," Carlos exclaimed as he and Mal shared a hug for several seconds.

"Did you tell her?" Jay asked his black-and-white haired friend, his face becoming more serious.

"Tell me what?" Evie asked, glancing at Carlos.

All of a sudden, his smile was gone. And Evie knew something was wrong.

"You need to tell her," Jay said.

Carlos kept silent as Evie looked at him with concern.

"You said you were going to tell her someday. That day is today, Carlos," Jay urged. "You gonna tell her or should I?"

"Carlos, what's he talking about?" Evie asked, fear overtaking her face.

"Evie, I-I...," he began, but stopped. It was too hard. He couldn't do it.

"Jay, what's going on?" Mal asked, her arm linked with his.

Jay looked at Carlos who still wouldn't say a word. He sighed. _'I hate to do this to you, buddy. But it has to be done,'_ he thought.

"Carlos has a girlfriend," Jay stated. "We didn't think we were ever going to go back to Auradon City because of something we saw. I was still planning on returning to Auradon City one day, but Carlos gave up. He's with someone else."

Both Mal and Evie were shocked at what Jay said. Evie slowly turned around to face Carlos, who was staring straight at her. His eyes were unable to read. It was at that moment that Evie's hope shattered.

"Y-you...," Evie stuttered. It looked like she was about to cry. She then turned to Mal. "You told me this wouldn't happen."

"Evie, it wasn't...I didn't know," Mal said softly.

"Evie," Carlos said, turning her attention back to him. "Can you at least let me explain?"

The blue-haired girl paused for a moment to think. All was silent for a while until she spoke.

"No. Jay's said enough about this. You didn't think we were meant to be. You gave up," Evie said, her voice becoming harsher as she slowly stepped towards Carlos, forcing him to step back.

"No! That's not what-," Carlos was cut off by Evie.

"I loved you! Every day after you left, I thought about you. And you just forgot about me to be with some other girl!" Evie spat.

"Evie, I didn't forget about you. It took me a long time to even think about dating again, but sometimes in life these things happen," Carlos said. He was standing on the edge of the platform now.

Tears rolled down Evie's cheeks as she stood there. When they all thought she was done being angry, she pushed Carlos into the water!

SPLASH!

Mal and Jay were shocked at what she had done.

"Evie," Mal said, reaching out for her arm, but Evie ran. She ran across the bridge back to shore.

Mal tried to go after her, but Jay stopped her.

"I think she needs to be alone for now," he said.

They then helped Carlos back onto the platform. He was soaking wet. Mal rested her head on Jay's shoulder, their arms still linked together. Her face was gloomy even though she had found her True Love again. Her best friend was unhappy. All because of...Carlos.

* * *

 _Jay and Carlos had finished packing for college. The days went by so fast. It felt like only yesterday when they told the girls they were going to Corona for college. At first they were scared. And sad. They still are, but most of that is overtaken with proudness for their friends. As the four all stood in front of their apartment building, they each said their goodbyes._

 _"We'll make it work. I know we will," Jay said._

 _"I know, but long-distance relationships can be so hard," Mal replied._

 _Jay took her hands in his. "It'll work," he reassured._

 _Mal smiled and pressed her lips to his._

 _Meanwhile, Carlos and Evie had a totally different tone in their conversation._

 _"I really wish it didn't have to be like this," Evie said._

 _"Yeah," Carlos said. "But Corona University has these great classes and-," Carlos got cut off by Evie._

 _"I know," she spoke quietly. The depressed expression on her face made Carlos even worse about the situation._

 _"But it'll be okay. When I come back, we can be together again," he said, before embracing her in a hug._

 _"You ready?" Jay asked, causing them to break apart._

 _"Yeah," Carlos answered. He hugged Mal goodbye while Jay did the same with Evie. After that, the got in their car and drove away._

 _Suddenly, all of Evie's tears she's been holding back came out, and Mal let her rest her head on her shoulder as they watched the boys drive away._

 **Whoo. That one was a doozy.**

 **Thank you for all your positive reviews. It really helps me want to keep writing this story. And sorry about the long break. It was the holidays and then I took another week or two off from writing, but now I'm back and I'll keep working on this story (and all others) as best as I can.**


	10. Chapter 10: Back to the Drama

**Um...I may have slacked on writing this just a little bit. But hey. It's here now so...enjoy!**

She couldn't understand it. She just couldn't. Tears fell as she sat on a bench overlooking the ocean, rolled up into a ball. She felt miserable. Her head was buried in her curled-up body as she wept. She had been sitting there for quite a while.

"Evie?!" she heard a voice call out.

The blue-haired girl ignored the voice calling for her. There was silence after that, but then she heard footsteps getting louder till she felt someone sit down on the bench beside her. She lifted her head up and saw Mal, a worried expression on her face.

"E, are you okay?" Mal asked.

Evie didn't answer. Instead, she turned her head to face the horizon.

"I'm really sorry about what happened," Mal said.

"It's not your fault," Evie finally spoke.

It fell silent soon after. Mal was thinking of how to cheer her up. The girl basically had her heart crushed by the person she loved. When Mal was sad, Evie was always the one to cheer her up. Now, it's the other way around.

"You know, I think he made a mistake," Mal stated.

Evie turned to face her purple-haired friend, curious of what she had to say.

"You're beautiful, talented, and extremely smart. You have a good heart. He must've been out of his mind if he gave up on you to be with some other girl. I bet she won't even compare to you. You're...what you like to say...the fairest of them all," Mal said in attempt to cheer up her friend.

"Thanks," Evie said, a small smile forming at the corner of her lips, but quickly faded away. "But it still hurts."

Mal stared at her gloomy expression. She wished she could've done something. Maybe if she hadn't gotten her hopes up that Carlos would still want her then maybe it wouldn't be like this. Maybe she should've gone searching for the boys herself then Evie wouldn't have to feel like this.

"Jay and Carlos invited us to stay with them for now," Mal stood up and extended her hand out to Evie. "I know it's going to be weird, but he's still your friend,"

After a moment of hesitation, Evie put her hand in Mal's and the two walked to the guys' place.

* * *

"And then my car broke down in Sherwood Forest and there we met Robin Hood. We had to stay there for a couple days while his Merry Men fixed my car. When that was done, we made our way to Cinderellasberg, but then somewhere at lunchtime, we were hungry so we stopped here to find something to eat and then we found you two," Mal said, telling the boys of the adventure she and Evie had while trying to find them.

"Wow. You guys did all that just to find us?" Carlos asked.

"Yup. All for you idiots. So, how've you been? You know, since you graduated college?" Mal asked.

"Right. College," Carlos said, looking quite nervous.

"We did some traveling around. Found we really liked it here. You know, the ocean smell, the fishing; it's a pretty nice place," Jay answered.

"Sounds like you two really like it here," Mal said.

"Well, you know. It's no Isle of the Lost, but it'll do," Jay said, chuckling a little.

Carlos smiled at Jay's (awful) joke and glanced at Evie, who was slumped into the sofa she and Mal were sitting on across from him and Jay, her eyes looking anywhere but at him. This made him feel just awful. He always hated seeing Evie sad. And it's all his fault. Maybe if he waited a little longer, she and him could still be...wait. He shouldn't think about things like that. He's over her now. He loves someone else.

"Okay. Cut to the chase. Why did you stop all contact with us?" Mal asked.

"Uh...," Jay stuttered.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. All eyes turned to the door as Carlos got up to answer it. They all heard a feminine voice at the door.

"Lauren! Hey. Uh, what are you doing here?" Carlos asked.

"Well, I knew tonight Jay was making his famous spaghetti and meatballs so I thought I'd come over. Is that okay?" Lauren asked.

"Of course. Uh...come in," Carlos said, letting her walk in before closing the door.

Lauren was then visible. She had light skin and icy blue eyes. Her long blonde wavy hair reached to her chest. She wore a plain pink knee-length dress and a light blue jacket with gold-colored strapped sandals. She was stunning to say the least.

Mal and Evie stared at Lauren with wide eyes. They knew exactly who she was. Evie's heart began to beat faster in panic. She could already feel the tears forming in her eyes, but tried her best to hold them in.

"Guys, this is Lauren. My girlfriend," Carlos introduced her, glancing at Evie at that last part, who had turned away. "Lauren, this is Mal and Evie. Remember I told you about them?"

"Oh, right! It's so nice to finally meet you," Lauren said happily.

"Yeah. Us, too," Mal replied trying to sound just as excited as her.

She then leaned in to Jay and quietly asked, "Is there something bad about her? There's gotta be something bad about her."

"Nope. I've known her for almost a year and she's the kindest, most generous person I've ever met," Jay replied quietly.

Mal frowned slightly at that, and returned back to her seat. Carlos made his way back to his spot on the couch with Lauren following.

"Wow. Your skin is so beautiful," Lauren stated, looking at Evie.

"Oh. Thank you," Evie said, surprised at the compliment.

It was becoming a little hard to hate her since she seemed so nice. Maybe Carlos didn't make a mistake. Maybe Evie's just not as great as her.

"So, how long have you two been together?" Mal asked.

"Maybe six or seven months, right?" Lauren turned to Carlos.

"Yeah. Around that long," Carlos answered smiling, but once again his smile faded when he glanced at Evie.

"How nice for you two," Mal said, faking a smile.

Silence soon filled the room. Jay glanced at Evie, who was staring at Carlos and Lauren with a sullen look in her eyes. It had just come to his mind that maybe all this was his fault since he was the one who told Evie that Carlos had a girlfriend.

"Hey, uh...Evie. Wanna help me make dinner?" Jay asked, hoping to get her out of this room.

"Um...sure," Evie answered, following him to the kitchen.

The others watched as they left. Mal then turned to the couple sitting across from her and forced a smile.

Meanwhile, Jay and Evie were in the kitchen preparing dinner. Jay's famous spaghetti and meatballs, to be exact. While he was cooking the noodles, Evie was left cooking the meat for the sauce. No words were exchanged for a few minutes. Evie was too depressed to speak and Jay was pretty busy cooking. But when the rush was slowing down, he decided to talk to Evie about the whole situation.

"Hey, you doing okay?" Jay asked.

"I-I've been better," Evie responded quietly.

"I feel bad for telling you about her. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything. It's just that Carlos had been talking about telling you one day through a letter or something, but he never did. You needed to know," Jay explained.

"It's all right. I would've found out anyway," Evie said.

"I think you'll really like Lauren. She's not that bad," Jay said.

"Easy for you to say. Mal doesn't have a boyfriend. She hasn't had one since you. You two are back together now and I have nothing," the blue-haired girl spat.

Jay chuckled. "Evie, Mal and I aren't together," he stated, receiving a confused look on Evie's face. "At least, not yet anyway. We need to figure out what's going to happen before we...commit to anything."

"Figure out what's going to happen?" Evie asked.

"You know, with the thing about you and Carlos," Jay replied.

"So...I'm stopping you and Mal from being together?" she asked.

"No! No. That's not what I meant. We just really care about you and Carlos and we want to make sure you're going to be alright," Jay answered.

Evie sighed and returned to cooking the meat.

"Look. Things will get better, alright? Just wait," Jay said to her before returning to the noodles. "It's great seeing you again."


	11. Chapter 11: Temptation

Why should she still linger on? Why should she still hope that Carlos would end up with her? It's impossible. He already seems so in love with Lauren. The way he smiles at her during glances, how highly he talks about her...Everything seemed to go gray for Evie. What's worse is that Lauren seems very in love with Carlos as well. And she's so nice. It's so hard to hate someone who does nothing but compliment you and always speak so politely.

Evie played with the single meatball on her plate as she listened to the chattering of her friends. She's never felt this depressed before. Everyone seemed to notice, but never actually said anything because they didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

"...And then the whole boat tipped over! Jay and I had to swim back to the docks after it sank to the ocean floor," Carlos said, the tone in his voice a lot happier than Evie felt it should be.

"So what did your boss say?" Mal asked, swirling her fork in the messy pool of spaghetti on her plate.

"He told us if that ever happened again, he would slit our throats with his hook," Carlos answered.

"Who is he? Captain Hook?" Mal joked.

"Kinda," Carlos replied.

Evie couldn't help but just stare at Carlos. Why is _he_ so happy? She's over here drowning her sorrows in spaghetti while he laughs and tells stories with his hand lingering on Lauren's! Isn't he at least concerned for Evie's well-being? He hasn't even glanced at her since dinner started. At least, from what she knows.

"So, how's old Bennyboo doing? Jay asked, in a joking manner.

"You know, running the kingdom, signing boring paperwork, typical king stuff," Mal answered, casually.

As they talked, Evie could see Carlos and Lauren holding hands under the table. She felt herself about to let those tears she's been holding back go. Evie stood up, causing everyone's eyes to turn to her.

"Excuse me for a moment," she said in the softest voice.

She walked away, leaving her friends. Lauren looked around at everyone's faces. She then glanced at where Evie left.

"Excuse me...As well," she said, getting up to leave.

Lauren walked around the house, searching for the blue-haired girl. She quickly heard her inside the bathroom snifffling, but the door was closed. Lauren lightly knocked on the door, the sniffling stopped.

"Evie? I know you probably don't want to, but...can we talk?" she asked.

There was a moment of silence. Lauren didn't know whether to just leave her alone or to stay where she was. She didn't have to make that choice when the bathroom door opened, revealing a teary-eyed Evie.

"What do you want?" Evie asked, her voice still soft, but also shaky.

"I know you're Carlos' ex. I know you two have a history together. And even though I'm his um, current girlfriend, maybe we can still get along," Lauren suggested. "If it'll make you feel more comfortable, I'll even stop holding his hand for now."

"No, you don't need to do that. I'm fine. Really. I think I just need some sleep," Evie said. "It's...been a long day."

"Oh, well you go ahead and get some rest then," Lauren said.

Evie half-smiled and walked to the bedroom where she and Mal were supposed to sleep in. Lauren then made her way back to the dining room where she found Mal and Jay bantering with each other and Carlos rolling his eyes. She sat back down in her seat and exchanged glances with Carlos. She has suspicions that Carlos might still have feelings for Evie. But that was a long time ago. There's no more spark between them anymore...maybe.

* * *

 _Evie was in a dark room. Everything was black except for the single light shining above her._

 _"Evie," a faint whisper was heard, echoing in the room._

 _"Hello? Who's there?" Evie asked, her heart beating faster._

 _"Evie," the same voice spoke, but now in a taunting voice._

 _A faint figure began approaching her in the dark. Evie squinted, trying to see who it was. The figure finally came out of the shadows and into the light._

 _"Carlos?" she asked, receiving a chuckle from him._

 _"Way to state the obvious," he said, then he began to circle around her._

 _"What are you doing here?" she asked, trying to keep her eyes on him circling around her._

 _"Nothing much. I just came to tell you that I'm over you," Carlos said._

 _"What?" Evie asked, her emotions a mixture of fear and anxiety._

 _"You heard me. I feel nothing for you. I've moved on. You're just a girl who can't seem to let go of things. It's really pathetic when all you can do is cry about how much you miss your ex. Newsflash, sweetheart: That's not how life works. So you can either forget about it or be like this for the rest of your life," Carlos said, causing a tear to roll down Evie's cheek._

 _"Aw, how pitiful. You're crying in your dreams," Carlos stated, taunting her with baby talk._

All of a sudden, Evie's eyes shot open. She was still in the room she and Mal were supposed to sleep in. She glanced over to Mal and found her asleep. Evie then scanned the rest of the room before her eyes caught sight of the digital clock on a small nightstand next to the bed.

3:03 A.M.

Evie sighed and laid in her bed. She can't go to sleep now. She can't go back to that dream. Maybe a drink of water will help. So with that, Evie got up and quietly made her way to the kitchen. She poured herself a glass of water and took a sip. All seemed so quiet and peaceful. Evie was about to head back into the room, but as soon as she turned around, she was surprised to see Carlos standing in front of her. They were both so alarmed by each other's presence that they both yelped at the sudden sight of each other.

"Evie, what are you doing up so late? Don't you know what time it is?" Carlos asked.

"I could say the same for you," Evie replied. "I was just getting a glass of water."

She then showed him the glass cup filled with water in her hand. Carlos noticed she just stared at it, not wanting to look up. And he knew exactly why.

"Evie, I know things between us lately have been...awkward, but I really don't like it when we just don't talk to each other," he said.

"Well, we're talking to each other now," Evie stated.

The room began to fill up with silence between the two. Neither of them knew how to start a basic conversation without it getting awkward. Finally, Evie sighed.

"Is she good to you?" she asked, catching Carlos off his guard.

"What?" he asked.

"Lauren. How does she treat you?" Evie clarified.

"She treats me well," Carlos answered. "I think you'd really like her once you get to know her."

"Maybe," Evie said. "I just don't understand it."

"Understand what?" Carlos asked.

"How can Mal and Jay not date anyone else after all those years they've been apart while we're dealing with this...," Evie trailed off.

She sighed, turning away from Carlos so that he couldn't see just how upset she was.

"Evie, they're each other's True Love. It does things to them. I mean, Jay's one of the biggest players I know, but he hasn't hit on a girl since," he said.

"And we were never meant to be," Evie finished, turning back to face him. She paused for a moment. "Is that what you're trying to say?"

"Evie, I-" Carlos began to speak, but was quickly cut off by Evie.

"Don't 'Evie' me. Do you have any idea how hard it is to love someone only to find out they love someone else?" she spat.

Turning away from Carlos once again, she held in her breath hoping it would keep the tears from falling out of her eyes. Carlos stared at her, hating her position right now. But you can't change the past. No matter how hard it hurts.

"I loved you before. Back on the island. Then we moved to Auradon. When I found out you and Doug were dating, I just couldn't handle seeing you and him together," he said. "Now you know how it feels."

All became silent after that. No words were spoken between them for a moment. It felt like the longest minute they've ever experienced. Carlos hoped he could knock some sense into her. Maybe she could just forget about it and move on. But Evie was too stubborn.

"Doug and Lonnie said we were each other's True Love," Evie stated quietly, but loud enough for Carlos to hear.

"UGH! What is it with you and this True Love nonsense?!" Carlos asked, angrily raising his voice.

Evie quickly turned back to face him, her eyebrows furrowing together.

"It's not nonsense! It can happen!" she yelled just as loud as him.

"Not everyone gets that kind of happy ending, Evie!" Carlos argued.

"Oh yeah? What about Sleeping Beauty and Prince Phillip? or Belle and the Beast? Even Jay and Mal have somehow found their way to each other!" Evie retorted.

Right now they didn't even care about waking the other up. They were too caught up in their very intense argument.

"Those people were lucky. But just because we live in a world of magic does not mean everyone ends up with a 'True Love,'" Carlos argued. _"That's not how life works. So you can either forget about it or be like this for the rest of your life."_

Those words. Her dream. Those were the exact words Carlos said in her dream. But this only made Evie angrier. Her hands balled into fists as she kept arguing.

"I know that's not how life works. And I know True Love is a rare thing. But I believe. I believe that that exists for everyone. And I know everyone has a True Love! I felt it before. With you. I want to feel it again!" Evie said.

"But Evie, I don't love you!" Carlos shouted, causing everything to go silent once more. "Not anymore."

Tears formed in Evie's eyes, but she kept her glare on him. Then she just couldn't take it. She walked away. Outside in the darkness. Carlos watched as she stormed off, not wanting to go after her. He's had enough of her nonsense for one day.

* * *

Evie ran to the shore of Triton's Bay. She ended up sitting on a large but flat rock only a few feet from the water. She gazed up at the moon, hoping it could calm her down. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she stared at it. The cool breeze flowed softly onto her skin. It felt like it was comforting her. But she knew it was only trying to get her out of the way. Suddenly, something creeped up from under the water, causing Evie to scream. It was a woman. She was beautifully decorated with shells and sparkles in her hair and on her face.

"Who...who are you?" Evie asked, her heart racing out of fear.

"Hush, child. I am a mermaid. No other questions needed. I heard you crying. What's troubling you?" the strange woman asked.

"It's nothing," Evie lied.

"Doesn't seem like nothing. So tell me," the mermaid persuaded.

It felt strange telling a stranger your personal problems, but Evie just needed to vent. So she told the mermaid about Carlos and Lauren and everything that happened earlier.

"Sounds like you really like this boy for you to waste your time on him," the mermaid said. "Did you tell him how you feel?"

"I did, but he rejected me. I thought when I found him he would still like me," Evie answered.

"And you came all this way for him," the mermaid stated. "But I know he still likes you."

"You do?" Evie asked, her ears suddenly perking up.

"Of course I do. I'm a mermaid. I got all kinds of crazy powers," she answered. "But there is one problem. He has feelings for his girlfriend, as well."

"Of course he does," Evie muttered, her hope shattering.

"But I know that if that girlfriend of his were gone, he would be yours! All you need to do is to get rid of her," the mermaid said, smirking.

"How?" Evie asked.

"With this potion," the mermaid pulled up a small vial filled with black liquid. "Put this in her drink and she'll fall into a sleep-like death. If she's not awoken by True Love's kiss in twenty four hours, she'll stay that way forever."

Evie's eyes widened. She can't do that to Lauren! Sure, she's the only thing standing in the way of her being with Carlos, but poisoning her just seems so wrong. And she's been so nice to her since they met.

"No. I-I can't do that. It just seems so evil," Evie said.

"Well, evil does run in your family, doesn't it?" the mermaid asked, flatly.

Evie stared at the potion is the mermaid's hand. Oh, how badly the evil in her blood wants her to take it. But she kept resisting.

"Come on. Take it. And the man you love will soon be yours," the mermaid said.

How desperate was she? Poisoning Carlos' girlfriend just to get to him? She knows now that he does indeed still like her. And Lauren's the only thing standing in their way. But she's just so nice. On the bright side, maybe she ran over a puppy once. So this would be like avenging the puppy. Evie bit her lip. After a few minutes, she took it. She took the vial of poison from the mermaid's hand and put it in her pocket.

"Perfect. Now go and get your man back!" the mermaid cheered.

Evie nodded and ran back to the house, not knowing the trouble she'll soon be causing.


	12. Chapter 12: Sirens of the Sea

**Got some Jal in this chapter. Thought you all needed some of that. Enjoy!**

The next day came, but no one knew about what had happened last night. Evie sat on the couch as she watched Jay and Carlos scurry around the house getting ready to go to work at the docks. It was chaos.

"Carlos, what did you do with my lunch?!" Jay shouted in one room of the house.

"Why do you need it?!" Carlos shouted back in another room.

"So I don't die from hunger, idiot!" Jay yelled.

Evie turned to Mal, who was eating cereal at the dining table while casually looking at her phone. Honestly, she wished she could tell her about last night, but then she'd get in so much trouble. Running out of the house was one thing, but taking a vial of poison from a stranger and promising to poison your ex's girlfriend?! Evie averted her eyes away from her friend.

"Alright. Help yourself to whatever's in the fridge-" Jay began to say, but was cut off by Mal.

"Done," she stated, smiling as she lifted her head up to look at Jay.

Evie was still determined to poison Lauren. She just had to somehow get her here. Then she had an idea. If Evie could get Carlos to invite Lauren over tonight, then she'd get the perfect chance to poison her.

Jay chuckled before finishing, "We'll be by the docks if you need us."

He then opened the door and left with Carlos following behind, but the black-and-white-haired boy was held back when Evie sprung up from the couch.

"Hi," she said, suddenly.

"Um, hey," Carlos replied, awkwardly. "Listen, about last night, I-"

"It's okay. I've actually been thinking and...you're right. I should just forget about that whole True Love nonsense," Evie said, nervously fiddling with her fingers.

"Well, that's great. I'm glad you understand," Carlos said, a small smile forming on his face. "I should be going now so-"

"Wait!" Evie yelped louder than anticipated, stopping Carlos in his tracks. "I know you told me I'd like Lauren once I got to know her. Any chance you can invite her over tonight?"

"Sure. I can ask her later," Carlos replied.

"Okay. Bye!" Evie said, lightly shoving him out the door, then closing it.

She turned around and sighed. Looking up, she noticed Mal was giving her a weird look. She suddenly felt sweat slowly forming around her forehead as her friend stared at her.

"You're hiding something," Mal stated.

"No, I'm not," she said, defensively.

Mal got off her chair and walked up to Evie, confronting her.

"Evie, do you think after eighteen years of knowing you, you think I wouldn't know what you're hiding?" Mal asked.

"Mal, it's complicated, okay? You wouldn't understand," Evie replied.

"E, I'm your friend. You can tell me anything and I'll completely understand," Mal urged.

She was stuck. There was no way out of this conversation. Mal waited, her pale green eyes staring straight into her brown ones. Her stare felt like a laser shooting straight at her face.

"Okay, fine," Evie gave in. "I-I..."

She paused as Mal's eyebrow raised, waiting. She can't. She just can't tell her about it.

"I...I'm just still really heartbroken about Carlos. So I'm hoping that getting to know Lauren more will help with the pain." It took every ounce of strength she had to make that sound believable.

"How?" Mal asked, frowning.

"I just...really want to see Carlos happy. And if me being friends with Lauren makes him happy, then...I have to do it," Evie answered.

The purple-haired girl stared at her, searching for even the smallest hint of a lie. The explanation already seemed very unbelievable. It was now very quiet and still nothing. No hint of her lying.

"Hmm. Fine. When you're ready to talk more about this, let me know," Mal finally said, before walking away.

Evie sighed in relief. She plopped back onto the couch and leaned her head back. 9 A.M. and already the day's been crazy. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the slightest of sounds coming from the sofa across from her. Evie sat up and investigated it. There was nothing out of the ordinary. Just a bunch of pillows. Until she spotted a little black tuft of fur underneath one of the pillows. Curious, Evie removed the pillow from the sofa and was surprised to see a really old Beezlebub napping there.

"Beezlebub?" Evie asked, shocked to see Carlos' cat from the Isle.

The cat looked up at the blue-haired girl, her eyes half-open. Evie sat down beside the black cat and began to pet her.

"Oh, you've gotten so old," she stated, softly stroking down her back. "Do you remember me?"

In response, Beezlebub rubbed her head against Evie's thigh.

"I'll take that as a 'yes,'" she said, her lips curving upwards.

All of a sudden, everything seemed so peaceful. The soft purr of the old cat was the only thing heard in the room. Evie enjoyed it. It was a nice break from all her problems. A part of her wished it could stay like this forever. But it can't. At least, not until Lauren's gone.

* * *

A few hours later and Evie was still cuddled up with Beezlebub as she read a book to pass the time. Then she saw Mal heading towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Evie asked.

"To find the guys. It's getting a little boring in here," Mal answered.

Before Evie could ask about anything else, she left. Mal made her way towards the docks where Jay said he and Carlos would be. The smell of seawater filled the air and the sun shined very brightly onto the pale girl. She scanned the area, hoping to find one of the boys. Luckily, she spotted Jay walking along the platform where all the boats were tied up. He was in one of them fixing the sail.

Mal walked up to him, her eyes squinting as the sun shined in her face, much to her annoyance. When she got there, she stood in front of the boat Jay was standing in.

"Hey," Mal greeted, catching Jay's attention.

Jay turned to face her and smiled. "Hey, Mal. Whatchin' me work?" he asked, refocusing his attention to the sail.

"Well, there's nothing better to do so I thought I'd check out what you've been doing for the past year and a half," Mal replied, her arms crossed across her chest.

Jay jumped onto the platform Mal was standing on, a rope in his hands that was attached to the boat.

"So, what are you supposed to do, play jump-rope with the boats?" Mal asked, playfully.

"Well, you see, Mal, playing jump-rope helps keep the boats happy when they're constantly being out at sea fishing. So it's very important they stay happy otherwise the fish will sense the negativity and swim away," Jay explained, jokingly to play along with Mal's question.

They both tried to keep a straight face, but failed and ended up laughing. It was moments like these where they enjoyed each other's company the most. It's always been something they enjoyed since their days on the Isle.

"Sounds like a lot of work," Mal stated.

Then, that moment was interrupted when they both heard a bunch of annoyingly high-pitched voices.

"Hello, Jay! Oh, Jay! Jay, over here!"

The two turned to see a bunch of mermaids in the water next to the platform. They were all waving and smiling at Jay. Mal noticed him sigh in annoyance for a second before forcing out a smile.

"Hello, ladies. What's the weather like out there?" Jay asked, kneeling down.

"Nice and sunny," the one with red hair answered happily.

"Ugh. Who's she?" another with blonde hair asked, clearly pointing to Mal, who frowned.

"Ladies, this is Mal. She's my um...," Jay paused to think of how exactly to call her.

"Girlfriend," Mal finished for him, hesitantly, then proceeding to smile.

"There's no way you're Jay's girlfriend," one of the mermaids stated, bitterly.

"She's _way_ too ugly for Jay."

"She probably has him under some spell."

"Poor Jay-Jay. Blink twice if you're under a spell!"

Mal and Jay both listened as they continued to talk horribly about Mal. Jay glanced at his friend, er girlfriend, and saw the expression on her face was pretty upset. He was about to step in and say something when Mal beat him to it.

"You mermaids really need to learn how to be nice," she said.

"Says the daughter of Maleficent," the blonde-haired mermaid spat.

"Oh, so you know who I am?" Mal asked.

"Of course we do. We know a witch when we see one," a black-haired mermaid retorted.

"You can't keep us from Jay!" the red-haired one added.

"Alright. Well, good luck with trying to seduce someone who's clearly not interested," Mal spat back. "Jay, I think I should go. Evie's probably worried about me."

Jay nodded, but slightly confused. Mal was about to walk away when she heard the mermaids trash-talk her again.

"Ha! She can't even finish her own battles."

"Literally the stupidest thing in the whole country."

"And to think, she used to be the baddest of them all."

Mal stopped in her tracks. She was giving them the opportunity to swim away unharmed, but they just _had_ to provoke her even more. No one talks trash about her. She turned around to face the mermaids.

"Oh, you want bad?" she asked, darkly.

Suddenly, bright green fire appeared around her hands that were now balled into fists. The mermaids' eyes widened in fear as the purple-haired girl stepped closer to the edge of the platform.

"Mal, don't," Jay warned, placing a hand on her arm. "They're just trying to get you to show your evil side to prove how awful you are. Don't do it."

Mal turned to look at him. They both stared at each other, Jay telling her it's not worth it and that she's better than this without saying a single word. It was as if they were communicating telepathically. Soon, Mal's rage disappeared, the bright green flames along with it.

"You're right," she said, quietly.

She then turned to the mermaids who were confused as heck.

"You all should just swim away now. You've caused enough trouble for one day," Mal said to them.

"Whatever. Things were getting pretty boring anyway," the blonde-haired mermaid said. "Come on, girls."

And with that, the troublesome mermaids swam away, leaving the two alone.

"I'm sorry. About what happened," Mal apologized. "Mermaids just really annoy me."

"It's alright. Just be glad that was your only encounter with those ones. I have to deal with them everyday," Jay replied.

"I guess that's one bad thing about living here," Mal stated.

"Yeah, but you get used to it," Jay said, glancing at the water.

Everything seemed to happen so fast. One minute, they were just talking and enjoying the moment, then the next, Mal almost goes all Maleficent on those mermaids. Almost. If Jay hadn't stopped her, she definitely would've killed one of them.

"Thanks...for stopping me before would have done something I'd regret," Mal said.

"Well, that's just my job as your True Love to help you be the best person you can be," Jay replied, smiling.

They both laughed. Even after she almost killed someone, Jay could somehow make her laugh. It was like this effect he had on her.

Now they were standing on the platform. They somehow decreased the space between each other. Her hands on his shoulders and his on her back and waist. Mal missed him so much. It felt like a dream just standing there, inches away from his face. They both slowly leaned in, yearning to finally have their lips touch after all these years. They were so close...

"JAY! QUIT MESSING AROUND AND GET BACK TO WORK BEFORE I FIRE YOU!"

Jay and Mal quickly separated and ended up laughing.

"I guess I should go," Mal said.

"Yeah. I'll see you later then," Jay said, smiling.

"Yeah," Mal replied, feeling a weird sensation in her stomach. She bit her lip, trying hard not to smile. "Bye."

She then walked back to the house. Jay watched as she left, feeling the same thing she felt. It's as if they were falling in love all over again.

 **Aww, wasn't that sweet? And yes, I did have to put Beezlebub in this. I promise it'll be the last time. Unless you guys actually like Beezlebub hanging around. But, last time. Last time. I promise. I just really like cats.**

 **Also, you should be glad Jay stopped Mal from harming those mermaids. In earlier drafts, she really did almost kill them. Like, seriously. She was choking one of them.**


	13. Chapter 13: Unexpected

**Hehehe.**

This is it. Tonight was the night. Evie stood in the guest bedroom of Jay and Carlos' house. Lauren was here. The blue-haired girl stared at the vial of poison in her hands, watching as the liquid flowed with every small movement she made. She could faintly hear the sounds of her friends chattering in the dining room.

The longer she stared at the vial, the more she began to have second thoughts on poisoning Lauren. The poor girl doesn't deserve it. No one deserves it. But there is a way to break the curse. True Love's Kiss. The antidote to every spell.

But what if Carlos tries to kiss her and she wakes up? That would just prove they're each other's True Love. Evie can't have that. But...maybe Carlos won't think of that. After all, he doesn't believe True Love works for everybody.

"E, dinner's ready," Mal said, peeking into the room.

Evie quickly put the vial into her pocket and turned around to face her purple-haired friend.

"Coming," she said.

The two walked to the dining room and saw Lauren and Jay laughing at something Carlos said. Evie stared at Lauren who playfully shoved Carlos, causing him to laugh. Then they all noticed Evie and Mal stepped into the room. Lauren immediately walked straight to Evie with a smile on her face.

"Thanks for inviting me here tonight. I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I'm really looking forward to getting to know you better," she said, excitedly.

Evie was surprised. She didn't think Lauren would be so enthusiastic about becoming friends with her. Evie regained her composure and replied to the blonde girl.

"Yeah. Me, too. I have a feeling we're going to become great friends," she replied, her heart not fully into what she said.

For the rest of the dinner, Evie talked with Lauren. It was actually quite enjoyable, despite the fact that Evie was about to poison her. All the while, she snuck glances at Carlos and saw him smiling a little as he watched her and Lauren chat.

But even though she was enjoying herself, Evie's mind mainly focused on the vial in her pocket. Though Lauren was a nice girl, she had to go down.

As time passed, Evie began to fall quiet from all the conversations going around. Jay was now telling everyone the story of how Mal and him found out they were destined to be together. Or for those simple-minded, how they found out they were each other's True Love.

"Okay, I do not remember tying you up to a wall. At all," Mal said.

They were talking about that time when Mal was being mind-controlled by her mother.

"You totally did," Jay stated.

"What even triggered me to do that?" Mal asked.

"I said you were in love with me," Jay answered, a slight smirk appearing on his face.

"Wow," Mal snorted. "What a stupid way to make me go rogue."

She lightly stabbed her fork into the thick sliver of chicken on her plate.

"Well, to be fair, you were under the influence of your mom," Jay said.

Everyone seemed so...happy. Of course, they don't know what will soon be happening. Evie's hand was tucked into her pocket, playing with the cylindrical shape of the vial. It was so wrong to go along with the plan, but at the same time, it felt so good. It was like the poison was attached to her in some way. No wonder her mom liked to dabble with this kind of stuff.

"You guys want anything else to drink? There's coffee," Carlos offered, to which they all agreed.

"Great. I'll go make it," he said, about to get up.

Evie shot up from her seat, startling everyone. This was her chance. Her chance to poison Lauren.

"I can make the coffee. It's no problem," she said, hoping she didn't sound suspicious.

"It's okay, Evie. You don't have to," Carlos stated.

He wondered if she was just volunteering to get away from everyone else.

"But I want to," Evie argued. She walked straight to the kitchen. "Just sit back down and enjoy the rest of the dinner."

Carlos reluctantly obeyed and sat down. While he and the others continued to talk to each other, Evie quickly made coffee for everyone, glancing back at them every so often.

Soon, the cups of coffee were all made. But there was one thing left to do. Evie reached in her pocket and brought out the vial of poison. It's time. There's no going back. Quietly, she opened the small bottle and poured the black liquid into Lauren's cup. Her heart was pounding. If she got caught, it would be the end. This had to be the evilest thing she's ever done.

She glanced at her friends, hoping they don't catch her in the act. Once all the black contents were poured into the cup, she stirred it around. The black hid perfectly within the dark coloring of the coffee.

Then, she carried the cups of coffee with a tray to the table, remembering which one to give to Lauren. One by one, she placed the cups in front of her friends, lastly giving the blonde girl the one with the poison in it.

"Thanks, Evie," Jay said, pausing to take a sip. "It was a much better idea to let you make it. Carlos' coffee sucks."

The son of Jafar earned a glare from his black-and-white-haired friend. Evie sat back down, keeping her eyes on Lauren.

The blonde girl lifted the cup up to her lips. Evie watched with anticipation. The poisoned drink was so close to entering her mouth. Until she caught a whiff of her drink. She set the cup down on the table, causing Evie to become very confused.

"This smells kinda funny. Like fruit," Lauren stated.

Evie began to panic. _'Oh no. She figured it out. What am I going to do?'_ she thought. Her heart pounded even faster than before. It felt like it was about to leap out of her chest. The fear of them figuring out that she was trying to poison Lauren wasn't helping her at all.

"Hm. Let me try it," Carlos said, reaching out to grab Lauren's cup. AKA the cup with the poison in it.

Evie had to process what was going on. She was still worried about the others finding out. When she heard what Carlos said, her eyes popped out of her head.

"NO!" she screamed.

But it was too late. Carlos took a sip from Lauren's cup of coffee.

But nothing happened. Carlos seemed perfectly fine. Now Evie was standing up, leaning over the table, and had just screamed "NO" at the top of her lungs. Everyone looked at her with a confused look on their faces.

"Evie, calm down. Germs aren't that bad," Carlos stated. "It tastes sweet. Like, the opposite of what coffee is."

All of a sudden, Carlos frowned. He began to feel dizzy. The effects of the poison made his eyes see everything weird and swirly. He was still standing, so the things he saw made him step back, trying not to fall.

"Why...are you all...spinning...?" Carlos asked.

Then he collapsed onto the floor.

"Carlos!" everyone except Evie exclaimed. They all rushed to his side, checking to see if he was okay.

Evie just stood there, shocked. She didn't move. She couldn't. She made a mistake. A REALLY BIG mistake. She poisoned Carlos. It's all her fault. Tear began to form from her eyes as she watched her friends tried to wake him up. But it was no use. He laid there, still breathing, but unconscious. Evie was in too deep.

 **Oh, how I just love making everyone suffer. Including you readers ;).**


	14. Chapter 14: It Can Break Any Curse

"Carlos! Carlos, wake up," Lauren tried to call out to him, in hopes of waking him up.

Mal looked up from her unconscious friend and stared at Evie, her fidgeting and nervous expressions made it obvious she had something to do with it. Not to mention, she also screamed "NO" when Carlos was about to drink from Lauren's cup.

"What did you do?" Mal asked angrily, standing up.

Evie was caught off guard and she froze when Mal said that.

"What? I didn't do anything," she replied, hoping her friend would believe her.

"Don't lie to me, E! I know you did something. What did you do?!" Mal shouted.

Right after she said that, Evie started to cry. Mal softened a little from her rage hearing her friend cry. The other two, now standing behind Mal were confused at what was happening.

"I'm sorry," Evie managed to say. "I w-w-wasn't...trying to poison C-carlos."

"You poisoned him?!" Jay exclaimed.

"It wasn't on purpose. It was supposed to be for Lauren," Evie said, feeling the guilt overtaking her body.

Now it was Lauren's turn to speak. She stepped closer to the blue-haired girl.

"Why would you try to poison me?" Lauren asked softly at first.

Evie was about to answer, but Lauren continued to speak, raising her voice a little.

"I've been nothing but nice to you! I wanted to be your friend, but I guess the feeling wasn't mutual," she added.

"I-I'm sorry. I just...I don't know what I was thinking," Evie apologized.

What was Evie thinking? All this drama had clouded her better judgment. She was a fool. Tricked by jealousy and her depressed behavior. Now Carlos is laying on the floor unconscious, and she turned her friends against her.

"What are we going to do? How do we break the spell?" Jay asked, staring down at his poisoned friend.

Everyone stayed silent for a moment, wondering what the antidote was. Evie knew. The mermaid told her. But if Lauren kisses Carlos and he wakes up, then that means they're each other's True Love. It's too risky. She doesn't want them to end up together. It'll hurt too much. But if she doesn't kiss him, he'll never wake up ever again.

"True Love's Kiss."

All eyes turned to Evie. "True Love's kiss can break the spell," Evie repeated.

"You have gotta be kidding me," Mal said.

"Well, that's settled then. Lauren, go kiss Carlos," Jay said to the blonde.

Lauren soon felt eyes glued to her. Everyone was staring. The pressure was building up.

"Okay. I'll do it," she agreed.

Lauren kneeled down beside Carlos's body. Evie had to turn away. Lauren gently pressed her lips to Carlos'. After a few seconds, she separated. They waited. And waited. Nothing. Lauren wanted to cry. She wasn't Carlos' True Love. She's not the one he ends up with.

Lauren stood up, staring at Carlos sadly. Mal placed her hand on her shoulder.

"It didn't work," Jay stated.

When Evie heard that, she turned back around. While she was relieved that Lauren wasn't Carlos' True Love, he was still under the spell. Still poisoned. Still her fault.

Mal looked at Evie. Knowing she probably didn't want her to say anything about her, Mal just sighed.

"Let's get Carlos to his bed. We can figure out another way later," Mal said.

* * *

Now Carlos lay in his bed, the effects of the poison still there. Mal, Jay, and Lauren had been researching other antidotes for the spell for the past thirty minutes. Evie was sitting next to Mal, petting Beezlebub while they did so, but she later managed to slip away undetected.

She quietly made her way to Carlos' room and sat beside him on his bed. She couldn't stand the massive wave of guilt she got when she looked at him. If he doesn't wake up in the next 24 hours, he'll stay asleep forever. Evie's hand stroked Carlos' hair away from his face.

"Carlos, I'm so sorry about what happened. I didn't mean for you to be the one who got poisoned. I was just...really jealous and I missed you so much that I couldn't think straight. It's all my fault," Evie spoke to him, softly.

"I destroyed our relationship and along with it, our friendship. I don't want that to be forever. So if, or when you wake up, please forgive me," she continued. "I'm sorry."

Evie had to try it. If it doesn't work, at least she'll know she tried. Evie checked to see if anyone was around. It was all clear. She slowly leaned down. One last time. Her lips soon came into contact with his. It felt...good. Her heart was beating fast. If this didn't work, she would surely kill herself.

When she pulled away, she waited for something to happen. His eyes to open, his mouth to say something...anything. But nothing happened. Just like with Lauren. A tear fell from Evie's eye. She sat there crying, wishing he would just wake up.

After a minute, a pair of eyes fluttered open. Carlos' eyes.

"Evie?" he asked softly, wondering why she was sitting next to him.

Evie heard him and immediately, her lips formed a huge smile. She wrapped her arms around him, overjoyed that he woke up. _She_ woke him up. When she released him, he stared at her smiling. But then suddenly, it disappeared.

"What's wrong?" Evie asked.

"You woke me up," Carlos answered.

"What's...what's so bad about that?" Evie asked, knowing exactly why.

"Evie," Carlos moved her hand away from his shoulder. "You're my True Love."

"I...I guess so."

"But...I'm with Lauren. This is...," Carlos trailed off.

The room turned silent. Evie looked down sadly, her eyes brimming with tears again.

"Carlos, you know I still really like you...right?" she asked.

"Yeah," he answered.

"Do you...still like me?" she asked.

It took a moment for him to reply, but he finally did.

"No. I don't. I can't," he said.

"What do you mean 'can't'"? Evie asked.

Before he could reply, three bodies came barging into the room.

"Carlos? You're awake!" Lauren exclaimed.

"And...Evie's with you," Mal stated quiet enough so that no one else could hear.

As Lauren hugged Carlos, he and Evie stared at each other. No emotions. No talking. Just staring. Evie's got a lot of explaining to do.

 **Sorry it's not as well written as the other chapters. I'm just trying to get this story done fast. So...I apologize for the lack of good writing and storytelling.**

 **Also, after I finish this story, I will soon be writing/continuing The Jedi and the Bounty Hunter. Cause I know how much you guys want that. I do, too. Definitely the more interesting story of my Descendants 2015 and Star Wars crossovers...**


	15. Chapter 15: The Cards Will Tell

**And we're almost done. Just a few more chapters left. I hope.**

As soon as Lauren pulled back from the hug, she frowned.

"You're awake," she said, suspiciously.

She turned around to look at Evie, who almost darted out of the room.

"You...woke him up," Lauren said, standing up. Her brows furrowed and heart slowly feeling heavier.

"Lauren, I didn't mean to. I was just trying to say 'goodbye,'" Evie stated, taking a step back. "I didn't think that he was going to wake up."

Lauren balled up her fists as she held in a breath. After a few seconds, she exhaled, releasing some of the tension.

"I think I need some fresh air," she said, walking past the others to the door, not exchanging looks with anyone.

When she left, it went quiet for several seconds. Evie could feel everyone's eyes staring down at her. And it burned. REALLY burned.

"Well Evie, you got what you wanted. You proved we're each other's True Love now. Happy?" Carlos asked her.

Evie's shoulders dropped as her eyes glued itself to the floor. Mal reached out her arm and linked it to Evie's, gently pulling her out of the room. Now, Carlos and Jay were the only ones left.

Jay sighed. "You messed up, man," he said, stepping closer to his friend.

"I know," Carlos replied. "But I just can't. Remember the cards?"

Jay fell silent for a moment, recollecting his memory of Mal and Evie's future cards. "Yeah," he answered. "But...maybe we can prevent it."

"How? Those cards were very specific. There's no way we can stop it," Carlos said.

"Yes, we can. Just...don't let them near the ocean," Jay stated.

Carlos looked at him, unconvinced.

"Look, the details are messed up and poorly written, but the point is, Mal and Evie could die. And you need to tell Evie how you feel," Jay continued.

"How I feel about what? Her trying to poison my girlfriend?" Carlos spat.

"More like how you still like her," Jay said.

Carlos frowned. "It's confusing," he stated.

"What's confusing about it? You still like her. So what? You know she still likes you, too," Jay said, trying to lighten up the situation.

"Don't you see I can't? The card was one thing, but Lauren is another. I really like her. And I can't just break up with her to be with-"

"Your True Love?" Jay finished, raising an eyebrow.

Carlos glared at him. But he was right. Evie's his True Love. Now it's official. And he can't escape from that.

"After I began dating Lauren, my feelings for Evie disappeared. But then, when I saw her again by the shack...I knew those feelings were returning. I tried to avoid it. But then when Evie was trying to convince me that we're each other's True Love, and I got so fed up with her, I told her I didn't love her. Part of what I said was true. And then she ran off. I feel awful for saying that to her. But Lauren's feelings would be hurt if I said the opposite," Carlos said.

"Sounds like you're in a triangle," Jay stated. "You need to tell her."

"Who?" Carlos asked.

"Evie. Lauren. Both of them," Jay answered.

"I don't think I can do it," Carlos said.

"You don't have to," a voice came from the doorway.

Carlos and Jay looked up and saw Evie (and Mal) standing there.

"Well, you don't have to tell me, at least," Evie added.

Carlos stood up and walked towards the blue-haired girl. "Evie, I'm-"

"It's okay. I know," she interrupted.

While she was happy to know that Carlos returned her feelings, she didn't show a smile. She was too shocked to say anything or show any kind of emotion. All she did was hug him. It surprised Carlos at first, but then he put his arms around her, too. He was warm. That's all Evie could describe it as besides the fact that she enjoyed it. When they released each other, now it was Mal's turn to talk.

"Wait a minute. I heard you guys talking about the cards that hold our futures. You mind elaborating on that?" Mal asked.

"Yeah. We've been wanting to know what you saw in those cards that made you two run away and stop contacting us," Evie said.

"Okay, first off, we stopped contacting you two way before we found the cards. And second...here's the story," Jay began. "Some time during our stay in Corona, we got kicked out of the university. All you need to know is that pigs don't do well in college bathrooms. Anyway, we didn't want you to know what happened, so we stopped talking to you and decided to live with Freddie. But then being the good friend she is, she made us work for our stay at her place. Cleaning her trinkets, taking out the trash, all that kind of stuff."

"Wait, you got kicked out of college? For putting a pig in a bathroom?" Mal asked, barely being able to hold in her laughter.

"Not exactly, but we're not getting into the details. Anyway, so I was dusting off Freddie's magical cards when I stumbled upon yours. I showed Carlos and we both immediately knew we had to leave. At first, we were going to go back to you two, but then we figured you might be angry that we haven't called you in over a year, so we just kept driving and eventually, we ended up here," Jay ended.

"So, what were in those cards?" Evie asked.

Carlos walked over to his dresser and pulled out two pieces of paper. He brought it back to Mal and Evie and handed it to them. The cards of the future. Carlos and Jay watched as they looked at it. Mal and Evie's eyes popped from their heads.

Mal was the first one to look up. "Are you serious?" she asked.

The guys nodded in response.

Mal glanced back at her card. "This is messed up."

"We can save you. Just don't go near the ocean," Carlos said.

"I could have died...," Evie whispered to herself.

"What?" Mal asked. They all heard her.

"I ran off to the bay after Carlos and I were...arguing. A-a mermaid greeted me. She was the one who gave me the poison and convinced me to do it," Evie explained, glancing back at the horrendous image on her card.

"Selina," Carlos muttered.

"Who?" Evie asked.

"Selina is Lauren's sister. She plays around with poison like it's a cottonball. Come on, we've got to go talk to her," Carlos said.

"Lauren's sister?" Mal asked, surprised.

"Oh yeah. Did I forget to mention that Lauren's a mermaid?" Carlos asked, receiving glares. "No? Okay."

"Wait. I thought all mermaids were mean," Mal stated.

"Not all of them. Now come on, Jay. We've gotta go," Carlos said, about to leave. "You two need to stay here. Just in case."

"But I want to be there to talk to Selina, too," Evie argued.

"No. I don't want you to die," he urged. "But I'll be sure to tell her you said 'Hi.'"

And with that, Jay and Carlos left. While they were both disappointed they couldn't come with them, it was for the best. Evie glanced at her and Mal's cards again.

It both cards, it showed Mal and Evie being dragged down to the bottom of the sea by mermaids and drown.

 **Thought you all needed a take on Carlos' perspective. I admit, it did come out of nowhere and I should've done it earlier, but I am seriously just winging this whole story...yeah.**


	16. We Were Only Trying to Drown Her

Carlos and Jay made their way to the docks in the dark of the night. They saw a group of mermaids playing nearby some of the boats.

"Alright, where's Selina? We need to talk her." Carlos asked, after he and Jay stopped in front of them.

"Sorry, she's busy right now. She's helping us with a potion. But I'll be sure to give her a message," one of the mermaids said.

"Tell her she needs to come up here right now before I drag her up myself," Carlos spat.

"Alright, alright. I got it," the mermaid said, diving under the water.

Carlos and Jay glanced at each other, waiting for the mermaid to return. After a moment, she came back up with Selina.

"Alright, what is it? What's so important that you had to interrupt my work?" Selina asked, grumpily.

"You gave a friend of ours some sort of poison and convinced her to use it on Lauren," Carlos said.

"Ah! Little Blue. Yes, I remember. She was a sobbing mess when I found her," Selina replied.

"Why would you give her that?" Jay asked.

"The poison? Well, it was obvious her heart had been broken by the man she loved," she paused to glare at Carlos. "So I just gave her a little 'push' in the right direction."

"She almost poisoned Lauren. Don't you realize that?" Carlos asked, becoming a little more irritated with the shifty mermaid.

"Of course I knew that. I needed to teach my little sister that dating a human causes nothing but trouble. Thankfully, my plan worked and now she's back to where she needs to be. In the water."

* * *

Evie paced back and forth in the living room. Her mind worrying about the guys. Mal sat on one of the couches, reading a book. As quiet as it was, their minds on the other hand, were filled with thoughts.

"Can you stop doing that?" Mal asked.

Evie stood still and asked, "Aren't you worried?"

"I am," Mal answered.

"Well, you got a funny way of showing it," Evie retorted. "They need our help. I need to talk to Selina, too."

Mal closed her book, and stood up. "Evie, it's Jay and Carlos. They can handle it," she reassured.

Evie raised an eyebrow as Mal just realized what she said.

"Yeah, you're right. We should go help them," Mal said.

Then, they both walked out the door, headed towards the docks.

* * *

When they got there, they could hear the guys and Selina arguing. They started to run towards them. When they got there, things just got more interesting.

"Mal? Evie? What are you two doing here?" Jay asked. "You're supposed to be at the house."

"Sorry, Jay, but we figured you could use our help," Evie said.

"Ah! Little Blue. So nice to see you again. How'd that potion work out for you?" Selina asked, innocently.

"Don't talk to her anymore. You've caused enough trouble," Carlos retorted, putting a protective arm in front of Evie.

Selina laughed, surprising the four. "How cute. Looks to me like I did solve your problem," she stated with a smirk.

A few of the other mermaids noticed Mal and realized she was the girl who claimed she was Jay's girlfriend. Immediately, they began screeching.

"It's her again! The witch who spelled Jay!" they screamed, pointing to Mal.

"What on earth are you three talking about?" Selina asked, crossing her arms.

The other mermaids explained to her about what had happened earlier today. It didn't take long before one of the mermaids splashed some water at Mal. The purple-haired girl yelped and shielded her eyes with her hands.

"Hey!" she yelled.

But that first splash was just the beginning. Soon after, the other mermaids (except Selina) were splashing Mal with water. Her friends tried to stop them, but they didn't listen. Evie even tried to shield her. But nothing worked. All while the ruckus was going on, Carlos noticed Selina was just watching everything, smirking while an arm was rested on the concrete platform the four villain kids were standing on. He kneeled down to her level.

"Selina, stop this!" Carlos ordered.

"Why would I? They're having such fun," Selina replied.

"This is not fun! This is madness!" Carlos exclaimed.

"Oh, you ain't seen nothing yet," she said, before diving into the water.

Carlos pulled away, wondering what she was going to do. Before he could get stand back up, he saw Selina jump and grab ahold of Mal's wrist, pulling her into the water with the mermaids proceeding to dive down as well.

"MAL!" Evie and Jay shouted.

Though it was dark, they could see glimpses of the mermaids as they continued to pull her deeper under the water. Evie was about to go after her when Jay stopped her, reminding her about her "prophesized demise." So Evie stepped back and let Jay rescue her. She and Carlos watched as Jay dove into the water, disappearing underneath the waves.

Jay swam deeper. He could see the mermaids' vibrant hair swirling around several feet below him. Mal was putting up a fight, trying to free herself from their grip. She managed to punch one of them in the face before one of the mermaids grabbed a rather large clam shell and smacked Mal with it, knocking her unconscious. Jay finally reached them and tried to pry Mal from their fingers, but mermaids were surprisingly strong.

Back on land, Evie was a sobbing mess. Her best friend is about to die and there's no way she can just go and save her without dying as well. Carlos tried to comfort her the best he could.

"I have to go down there," Evie said.

"What? No. Evie, you can't. It's too dangerous," Carlos stated.

"Mal's life is in danger. I can't just sit here and do nothing," Evie said. "This is all my fault, Carlos. I have to help."

Before Carlos could stop her, Evie dove into the water. She knew she could die, as well. But at least she'll die knowing she tried to save her friend.

She could already see her friends and the mermaids. Jay was still fighting them, lost in a blob of flowing hair and tails. Evie pushed her way closer to them, but was stopped when another mermaid swam in front of her, coming face to face with the blue-haired girl. Her blonde hair flowed around as she and Evie stared at each other for a moment, the mermaid having a stern look on her face.

 _'Lauren?' Evie thought._

It was definitely Lauren. She narrowed her eyes and forcefully pushed Evie into the rocky wall that was supporting the docks above. Evie's back hit the wall, a few rocks were sharp enough that they cut into her clothing and scraped her skin. Evie screamed. Of course, it was muffled since she was under water. Air bubbles formed and reached the surface where Carlos had been waiting.

When he saw the air bubbles, he knew something was wrong. Looking around, he spotted a conch shell nearby. Quickly, he ran to it and picked it up. He blew into the conch shell, aiming it towards the water. The sound that was made was a loud, low, bellow. For some reason, the mermaids hated that sound. It was headache-forming to their ears. So when Carlos blew that conch shell, all the nearby mermaids stopped what they were doing and covered their ears, writhing in pain.

This gave Jay the chance to grab ahold of Mal and pull her up to safety, rushing for air, as well. When he finally reached the surface, he gasped for air. Carlos was relieved to see him and Mal, but sadly, there was no Evie. Yet, he rushed to help Mal, who had just regained consciousness. She was on her hands and knees, coughing out water.

"Mal, are you okay?" Carlos asked, kneeling down beside her.

"I'm fine. But those mermaids are gonna fry," Mal said, her eyes glowing green.

Carlos looked up at Jay, who was floating in the water. "Where's Evie?" he asked.

"I didn't see her. I think she might've-"

SPLASH!

Now, Carlos had gone into the water, as well. Jay knew he wasn't able to save Evie all by himself, so he told Mal to stay where she was and that he was going to help Carlos.

"Jay, wait," Mal said, stopping him.

He turned back to her, waiting for her to say something. But instead, she pulled him in for a kiss, her hand gently gripping the back of his neck. Jay was caught off guard, but soon leaned forward, melting into the kiss. He placed his hand onto her cheek. The kiss was soft. Though their bodies were physically cold after being in the freezing water for so long, on the inside, they felt warm. Jay had been wanting to kiss Mal for so long since he left Auradon City and now his wish had come true.

After a moment, Mal finally pulled back, keeping her hand on the back of his neck.

"I love you," she said.

Jay's lips curved into a smile. "I love you, too," he said, before going back under the water.

Mal moved back, sitting down on her legs. She had to find some way to help. Then, she realized she was still alive. She was in fact, dragged down by the mermaids into the ocean, but she didn't die. There was no way that wasn't what the cards were prophesizing. So what happened? The cards were never wrong. So maybe they were wrong. They interpreted it wrong. They weren't going to die. It was just a very important thing that would happen in their life.

Mal had to help them. But there was no way she was going to go back into the water. She can't even swim. Not knowing what else to do, she began to recite a spell.

 _"Give me eyes, like a hawk, let me see under this dock."_

All of a sudden, her eyes could see what was going on in the water. It was like the whole bay was see-through. It didn't take long before she spotted Carlos and Jay swimming towards an unconscious Evie. But the mermaids got to her first and were attacking the guys.

Then, Mal had an idea. She looked down at her hand and around it, began to form a green ball of energy. In one swift motion, she swung it at one of the mermaids attacking Jay, making her release him. She did that repeatedly, scaring away the mermaids from her friends.

Meanwhile, underneath the water, Carlos had just gotten out of one of the mermaid's grip after another one of Mal's energy blasts hit her. He then swam towards Evie, who was being held by Lauren. They stared at each other for a moment. Both not wanting to have to do this, but Carlos moved first.

He lunged forward for Evie, but Lauren quickly moved. She kicked him away with her tail, causing Carlos to become temporarily blinded by her tail fin. Still, he kept trying. Another mermaid came up from behind him and pushed him down deeper into the water. She was about to do it again when one of Mal's energy blasts hit her, causing her to stumble back away from Carlos.

He was running out of air. He had to save Evie now. So as quickly as he could, he swam towards Lauren and tried to pull Evie away from her. He felt his head was about to explode from holding his breath for so long. Luckily, Lauren was hit by a ball of energy and was pushed deeper into the water, losing her grip on Evie.

Carlos took this as his chance, so he wrapped his arm around Evie's torso and pulled her back up to the surface. Jay saw this and quickly yanked himself from the other mermaids' hands (with the help of Mal). Carlos finally made to the top with Evie. He gasped for air.

Mal helped him get Evie onto the concrete docks. She pulled Carlos up, as well. She placed her ear onto Evie's chest, hoping to hear a heartbeat. While she did that, Jay sprung up out of the water. But everyone's attention was on whether or not Evie was dead. So they waited for Mal to say something. But she didn't. Thinking Evie was dead, Jay and Carlos' shoulders sank and their eyes looked down in sorrow. All was silent. Until...

"She's alive!" Mal exclaimed.

Jay and Carlos looked up and saw Mal lifting her head and moving away from Evie. The blue-haired girl soon awoke and began coughing out water. As soon as she was done, all three of them got up and hugged her. A sudden wave of relief washed over all of them. But then Mal noticed Evie's back.

"E,...what happened to your back?" she asked.

Evie tried to look over her shoulder. She couldn't see much except for small hints of red. Returning to face her friends, she let out a sigh. But then they heard something in the water. They looked and saw Lauren, her hands resting on the edge of the docks.

"Carlos, we need to talk," Lauren said.

"I know," Carlos replied.

He walked over to her and began to explain what's been going on and basically everything he told Jay earlier. Though it was hard for them, they agreed to break up.

"So, you're not mad?" Carlos asked.

"Not...anymore," Lauren answered, giving him a weak smile. "Besides, who am I to stand in the way of True Love?"

Carlos couldn't help but chuckle. He remembered Evie telling him that back when they were in high school, Doug and Lonnie said the exact same thing. Though, it was kinda sad to know that Evie and Carlos were responsible for hurting the people they had relationships with. A story for another day, maybe.

"I'm so sorry about all of this," Carlos apologized.

"It's fine. You deserve to be happy," Lauren replied.

Evie then moved closer to talk to the blonde mermaid as well.

"Hey," she said.

"Hi," Lauren responded. The moment felt tensed as they exchanged greetings.

"I'm sorry for trying to poison you," Evie said. "I don't know what I was thinking."

"It's alright," Lauren stated, though not fully forgiving her. "Sorry about your back. It's gonna make one nasty scar."

"It'll be okay. It'd make a great reminder of my adventure," the blue-haired girl replied.

She could tell Lauren wasn't too happy with the situation. Boyfriend reunites with ex and breaks up with her. Not the best place to be in right now.

"I hope you find someone. Someone more worthy of your affection," Evie said, bringing a small smile to her mermaid friend.

"I can't tell if you just insulted me or not," Carlos commented, causing the two to laugh.

"Maybe we'll see you again someday?" Evie asked.

"Maybe," Lauren answered. "I'm gonna miss you, Carlos. You two, Jay."

"Goodbye, Lauren," Carlos said.

"Goodbye," she replied, before disappearing into the water.

It fell silent soon after Lauren left. The terror has passed. Mal and Evie are still alive.

"Wait a minute...what just happened...was what your future cards were prophesizing. Weren't you two supposed to die?" Jay asked.

Then Mal told them what she figured out earlier. They were all relieved when they heard that.

"So...what now?" Evie asked.

"Now, we go home. In the morning, we'll start packing," Carlos answered.

"Packing?" Mal asked.

"Yeah. Our stuff isn't just gonna magically transport itself to Auradon City, you know," Jay answered.

"You're moving back?!" Evie asked, excitedly.

"But...I thought you loved it here," Mal stated, confused.

"Triton's Bay is nice and all, but we miss Auradon too much," Jay said. "Plus, we'd miss you two."

* * *

When they got back to Carlos and Jay's house, Jay and Mal immediately fell asleep. The night was long and it took Jay a lot of swimming. Carlos ended up tucking Evie in.

While he did this, she remembered back in high school, when they were on a double date with Lonnie and Doug. She remembered them fighting in the park across from the restaurant and when he blurted out, 'Because I love you.' She always thought it just came out and he never really meant it, but now she just realized...he did. He did mean it.

Carlos began to walk out the door, but before he could, he was stopped when Evie said, "Carlos?"

He turned around, waiting for her to say something.

"I love you, too," she said, smiling.

At first, he was confused. He tried to remember a time when he said 'I love you' to Evie. Then, he remembered what happened that night of the dreaded double date. He smiled, and walked out of the room.

 **There.**

 **One more chapter left. Then it's over. This one was actually pretty long.**

 **Also, I'm just wondering. Who's here for only Carvie or only Jal, who's here for both, and who's here who doesn't ship either, but it just here? An interesting question to ask, you might say. Or not.**


	17. Chapter 17: Leads to What You Want

**Last chapter, you guys. Hope you like it.**

In the morning, Carlos and Jay began to pack with the help of Evie and Mal. It took a while, but they finally got all their stuff into boxes and they were all loaded in Jay's truck. Of course, before they could leave, Carlos and Jay had to quit their jobs. Evie made it extra sure that Beezlebub was with them on this trip back to Auradon City. After hours of packing and preparing, they all finally left Triton's Bay. Jay drove his truck with Mal, who entrusted Evie to drive her car with Carlos. It was going to be a long way home.

In Jay's truck, he and Mal were discussing their future.

"So, Carlos and Evie are back together. I'm guessing this means we're back on, too?" Jay asked.

"I guess so," Mal answered.

"Man, I'm gonna miss this place," Jay said.

"I know. But I'm glad you're coming back," she said, turning to look at him.

Jay glanced at her and smiled, but quickly turned back to the road. Mal decided to lean back and relax. This whole idea of finding him and Carlos was the best idea she's had ever. Finally back together again with her True Love. It's still crazy to them that it's like that. Fate just throws them together like they're magnets. Crazy talk, if you ask them, but for some reason, it was true.

"Just wait till you see how much everyone's changed," Mal said.

"Oh yeah?" Jay asked.

"Yeah. Ben's decrees have been more reasonable lately. Doug and Chad have matured a little, Jane's a teacher now at Auradon Prep, Lonnie's still living with her parents, but sometimes visits, and Audrey's...still Audrey, but less snobby," Mal explained.

"I guess I'll be in for a surprise," Jay stated.

Mal giggled. It fell quiet for a second shortly after that. Jay always loved Mal's laugh. It didn't come out very often when they were living on the Isle so he always tried his best to make her laugh. Most of the time, it didn't work. Mal had a very different sense of humor. And if she did laugh, it was like a choir of angels singing. Of course, Jay would never admit to this. Being the tough one in the group, cheesy romantic thinking made him seem like a wuss. Still, her laugh made him realize how much he loved her. One of the things, that is.

"I missed you," Jay said.

Mal turned to face him. "I know. I missed you, too," she replied.

"You really never dated anyone after I left?" Jay asked.

"No. I never had time for dating. When we broke up during the second year of college, I knew you were going to come back," Mal said. "I don't know how, but...I just knew."

* * *

Meanwhile, Carlos and Evie were driving in front of them, having a slightly different conversation.

"MEOW! MEOW! MEOW!"

"Carlos! Put that cat on mute before I put you on mute!" Evie shouted as she drove the car.

"Calm down, Eves. The drive's only eight hours," Carlos said.

He turned to Beezlebub, who was inside a pet carrier in the backseat along with a few suitcases. He reached out to pet her nose through the carrier hoping to calm the old cat down, only to receive another distressed "MEOW!". He pulled away and returned to his original position.

"I hope Dude'll be happy to see me. I'm starting to think Beezlebub's gonna hate me after this," Carlos said.

"Of course he will. But you can't really play with him anymore. He's an old geezer now," Evie replied.

"I wonder if the school would let me adopt one of his grand-puppies," Carlos wondered.

During senior year at Auradon Prep, Dude met a lady dog and they had puppies. And then a few years later, their puppies had puppies. Evie was sure to inform him about that.

"I'm pretty sure they will. Maybe even all of them. Otherwise, they'd have an army of dogs running around campus," Evie said, keeping her eyes on the road ahead.

Carlos smiled as he kept his gaze on her. Oh how much he missed her. His True Love. Of course, his mind had been slightly changed by that. Ne never really believed that could happen to everyone. That only a few people were lucky enough to find their True Love. Guess he got lucky, too. It must've been Destiny for them to be together. Especially after all that has happened.

"I'm glad we're together again," Evie said, pulling Carlos out of his thoughts. "And thanks for saving me from those mermaids."

"You're welcome. It's gonna make a great story to tell our kids someday-"

The car suddenly screeched to a halt. Evie had stomped on the brakes. The suitcases moved to the point where they were touching the back of their seats and Beezlebub's carrier had slipped off to the floor of the car, receiving another loud meow from the black cat.

"What did you just say?" Evie asked, eyes wide.

"Uh...I, I just said it would be great st-st-story to tell our kids someday," Carlos stuttered, shocked by the sudden halt. "I-I just thought you know, since we're each other's True Love, we'd end up...having...kids."

Evie stared at him for a while, trying to process this information. After that, she mind went back to reality.

"Right, right. Kids," Evie said, starting the car again.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to spring it up on you like that," Carlos apologized.

"It's fine. Just a little surprised. That's all," Evie replied.

Of course she wanted to have a future with Carlos and have kids. But she was just so shocked by what he just said. It's hard to process that.

* * *

After a few days of driving across Auradon's land, they finally reached Auradon City. They notified Ben about everything and he offered to let Jay and Carlos live with him in the castle until they could get their own house. Everything was going fine for the next two weeks. Carlos got to reunite with Dude and ended up adopting all but one of his grand-puppies, much to the dismay of Carlos because he wanted all of them, but someone already adopted one. Jay quickly found a team of Tourney players and was now playing with them. He and Mal went on a date or two during the two weeks they've been back. Already, it felt like old times.

Now, Ben was hosting a small little party to welcome back Carlos and Jay after being away for so long. He did this with every one of his friends who went to college somewhere else then returned. Even for a visit.

It turns out Audrey's new dog was one of Dude's grand-puppies and she brought him so now the little puppy's playing with his siblings (that Carlos adopted) while the black-and-white-haired boy glares at the princess. Jay, Ben, and Chad somehow ended up chanting about the Auradon Knights, while also forcing Carlos to say it with them since he was on the team, as well.

Meanwhile, Evie and Mal were talking while everyone was distracted.

"I still can't believe it," Mal said, as they watched the guys go crazy (minus Doug cause he's a mature gentlemen).

"What?" Evie asked.

"If we hadn't tried to find Jay and Carlos, this never would have happened," Mal answered.

They watched as the guys had managed to lift Doug off the ground and now they're carrying him around while still chanting. The poor guy was screaming.

"Them putting Doug's life at risk?" Evie asked playfully.

"No, I mean, Jay and Carlos being a part of our lives again," Mal said, smirking at her friend's humorous comment.

"That is true. But remember that you're the one who started all of this," Evie stated.

"I guess so, but it's not all my doing," the purple-haired girl said, before sighing. "It feels like high school all over again."

"Except now we're adults."

"Yeah."

Mal took a sip of her drink, but then immediately after, she noticed it tasted weird.

"Who spiked the punch?" she asked, staring at the drink with an eyebrow raised.

"Alright, everyone! Let's take a group picture!" Audrey shouted.

Everyone gathered around her and they took several pictures with her camera that Chip was holding since he was just passing by. The first one they took, everyone was smiling and staying in one place, but the second one, the grand-puppies were running in front of them, chasing after Beezlebub. In the next one, Doug and Chad had dumped the dowl of punch onto Audrey and Lonnie. Then the final one showed them running for their lives with the two girls chasing after them as Carlos kissed Evie on the cheek. Also, one of the grand-puppies had photo-bombed them by poking his face in one corner of the camera.

 **The End!**

 **Whew. I'm finally done. Still can't believe this got to 17 chapters...that's a handful more than Unexpected.**

 **I really don't want this series to end. It was really fun. But, alas, I must get cracking on the Jedi and the Bounty Hunter. I might do some sort of oneshot following this series, but I don't know when. Also, I'm going to take a quick break before I get writing the next story.**

 **Thanks for reading and reviewing the story especially starflight34 for being the main person reviewing. Since chapter eight.**

 **UNTIL NEXT TIME FELLOW DESCENDANTS FANS!**


End file.
